Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath
by MiNdZeRo
Summary: Condemned with no assistance to face his trials, Harry finds aid in the darkest of places, changing the course of his life horribly. ***A story about Necromancy***
1. Chapter 1 Under the Skin

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 _AN:_

 _Originally, i had intended for this story to be much, much longer, but i ended up deciding to make it shorter. The story takes place during year 4, the triwizard tournament, a year that i feel like has been milked dry by the fanfic community enough as it is. As i was writing, i found myself wanting to get along with the plot instead of writing about every single incessant little occurrence that i could write about which happens during the 4th year._

 _When you read this story, you will notice there is ALOT of timeskips. This is completely intentional, as ive read so many fanfics about the 4th year its enough to make me sick, so much that i get conniptions just writing about the 4th year myself. There is a lot of things that happen between the scenes, so to speak, and i do try and tell that in a manner that feels natural for the readers, but i wouldn't be surprised if certain parts of the story feels rushed._

 _I had intended to write into the 5th year as well, but IF i eventually do, then it will be a separate story, but sequel to this one. I haven't decided yet if i want to though._

 _So, why chose to begin at 4th year? I had an idea, and it was that idea that i wanted to build upon, and that idea begun at 4th year. I don't have a better nor worse excuse than that, so that is how it is. I got the idea from Total War: Warhammer game that came out a good while ago and i instantly fell in love with the Vampire Counts faction that you can play as, a faction of the undead specializing in necromancy._

 _Interest peeked, i looked into the Harry Potter fanfics to see if there was a good story about necromancy, and to my surprise i found nearly nothing. I ended up wanting to write something myself that was original, but still clearly what many will perceive to be 'Necromancy'._

 _One thing though:_

 _The story is, if you didn't catch onto the hints, quite progressively dark, but not as much as i had originally_ _intended. What the main character does in my stories are in no way a reflection of my personal beliefs or values, its just a character i have created. Nothing more._

 _If people have any questions il try to answer as best as i can, but im in the middle of moving into a new place so i promise nothing._

 _Anyways, chapter 1, ENJOY!_

 **Chapter 1 Under the Skin**

He should not have been surprised. Really.

He should not have been surprised that Ron's jealousy would get the better of him, but it still stung when Ron condemned him for a slight he was not even guilty of.

The worst part was, Ron had been with him all the way since the beginning. He'd been there when they found Sirius, during the events of the chamber of secrets and during first year with the possessed Quirell.

Every year they'd drawn the shortest stick yet stayed together, and finally it seemed like Ron fell into line with the rest of everyone Harry knew.

He didn't know what to think of Hermoine. She seemed to believe him, but effectively washed her hands off both of them, not wanting anything to do with their argument. Harry could understand her, but he was still disappointed. She still had other friends as an alternative, Harry did not.

Days passed this way, people whispering behind his back, scoffing at him whenever he passed. Snide remarks became an increasing occurrence and Harry found himself more and more withdrawn from everyone else.

You'd think friends would show a little more loyalty than this, but it seems getting picked unwillingly for a tournament he was obviously much too young to join and frankly does in no way have the skill to cheat his way into is enough for everyone he knew to throw away their morals and abandon one of their own.

Harry found himself growing angry with them.

He was angry with his friends for leaving him alone, he was angry with the faculty for not stepping in and he was angry with himself for ever having placed trust in them.

When he was first shown the 'Potter stinks' badges that more or less everyone in school just a week later was wearing by Malfoy, along with some snide remarks, Harry couldn't help but hate them.

He found himself stewing with cold anger, outwardly ignoring everyone yet burning inside.

As class ended Friday noon, Harry quickly packed his books from history class and swiftly left the area before anyone could bother him. People had been particularly vicious that day. Some had even thrown things at him and Harry really needed to get away before he snapped and hurt someone.

Wandering for some time, Harry quickly realized that finding a secluded location Friday noon after school was incredibly difficult, if not impossible. Couples looking to be alone with each other had already claimed every corner of the school, and unless Harry decided to brave the forbidden forest for some time alone, he'd obviously share his self-imposed exile with undesired company.

Against his better judgement, he eventually found himself in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

Closing the door behind himself Harry drew a long and shuddering breath before finding a dry place to sit down in the wide bathroom.

He was tired of this. Tired of the stares and simple minded bullying.

Looking over the bathroom, a small smile tugged at his lips. While it was here the entrance to the chamber of secrets laid from which he had some memories he would much rather forget, it was also here Hermoine had brewed the Polyjuice potion when they intended to spy on Draco.

Thinking of Hermoine and Ron brought a wave of depression and Harry found himself thinking about other things very quickly.

Looking towards the sink where he knew the entrance to the Chamber of Secret were, Harry found his curiosity building. Last time he'd been there, he had not taken the time to really look around down there.

Standing up, Harry stretched and frowned towards the sink.

It was not like he had anything better to do. Dumbledore would have never allowed him to go down there...

...But Dumbledore had done nothing to help him either.

Glaring coldly, Harry walked towards the sink and spoke the same words he'd opened the path with the last time.

Nobody knew, that in the coming months, a horror was born.

* * *

It was dark, much darker than what Harry could remember the chamber being. Despite the tunnels ominous appearance, Harry found himself welcoming the complete and utter silence.

Making his way clumsily through the narrow tunnels, Harry's eyes eventually adjusted to the dark and Harry quickly recognized the layout around him. He remembered it like it had been yesterday, when he'd scrambled across the ground, scurrying through the tunnels on his escape from the basilisk.

Pushing away the dread that followed the memories, Harry pushed on towards where he knew the basilisk laid.

Finding the wide and somewhat brighter lit room, the picture of Salazar still upon the wall, the Basilisk laid the exact same place he remembered it.

To his surprise, without a single sign of decay.

It had been almost 2 years since it died, yet here it laid, as if it had fallen just yesterday.

Making his way towards it, Harry eyed its corpse warily. He knew it was dead, yet it still seemed just as huge as it had been last time. Looking towards the face of Salazar upon the wall, Harry noticed its mouth, where the basilisk had exited from last time, was still open.

Sucking in a sharp intake of breath, Harry eyed it thoughtfully.

Curiosity pulled him towards it. What could the harm be? The basilisk was dead.

Climbing into the hole, Harry was finally forced to use his wand to light the way, as the tunnel was shut in complete darkness. Climbing through, Harry momentarily panicked as he came upon a circled, stone room with shedded snake skin laying about. Calming his beating heart, Harry giggled almost deliriously at himself, before walking across the room towards a narrow corridor at the other end.

Anticipation was building in him. He'd assumed there'd be nothing more than the snake's chambers, yet this corridor was much too narrow for the large snake.

Seconds later, Harry came upon a room, shrouded in darkness and dust.

Lighting the room with his wand, Harry entered the the circular room.

It was a library. A small one, shelves of books going up the walls until they disappeared into the darkness above. A small, old lamp stood upon a wooden table in the middle of the room with a chair at its side.

Dust filled his lungs and nostrils as he breathed. This room was old, and clearly unattended since hundreds of years ago.

Harry frowned and eyed the room critically as he moved to light up the lamp on the table. Had Voldemort not discovered this adjacent room? He supposed not everyone would explore the basilisk's chamber, especially when it was still alive. Looking around the room, Harry would not be surprised if the room had not been used since it was first built.

A shelf in the in the middle of the room drew Harry's attention. The shelf was empty apart from one book that stood in the middle all by itself.

Against his better judgement, Harry picked up the book.

The book had no inscription on the outside of it and its texture was leathery, yet odd and alien to him.

Opening the old book carefully, he lighted its pages with his wand and squinted his eyes. The simple text upon its first page was old and hard to make out, the pages yellowed by time.

 _'My name is Ludvig von Coldwyn and it is within these pages i leave my life's work. My days are numbered and it is my only hope to hide this knowledge that many would never see come to light._

 _I can only hope that whomever is reading this does not have the narrow frame of mind that most ignorant wizards carry._

 _I ask you to treat this book with respect. It is wrapped with the skin of my dead wife, as was her dying request in order to forever preserve my legacy.'_

In sudden disgust, Harry dropped the book as if he'd been burned, the heavy book falling to the ground with a loud thud that rang like a gunshot through the room.

Surprised by the sudden loud sound that pierced the silence, Harry backed out of the room, almost expecting something to come out of the darkness and attack. Shaking his head, Harry told himself to get his act together before walking swiftly out of the library.

The darkness had been getting to him. He needed fresh air.

* * *

Sitting down at the end of the Gryffindor table, Harry dispassionately ignored the petty whispers and snide remarks that was directed at him. His mind was occupied by his earlier discovery.

The book, this 'Ludvig', had wrapped the book in his dead wife's skin. Who would do something like that? Why?

...What secrets lied within its pages?

Had it been last year, Harry would have burned the book himself, but now, Harry had asked himself a question he regretted asking...

'What will aid my survival in the tournament?'

People had died in the tournament before, if he remembered what Hermoine had told him at the beginning of the year correct.

If someone wanted him forced into the tournament, Harry figured it was obvious as to the reason.

"So, Potter.", a voice Harry had learned to loathe called out from behind him. "How do you think you will fare in the tournament?"

"Draco.", Harry sighed and glanced over his shoulder at his nemesis.

"People are betting on when you'l die, you know.", Draco grinned at him, Crabbe and Goyle flanking his sides with supid grins. "Most think you'l die within the minute.", Draco sneered at him. "My bet is within seconds."

"You're probably right.", Harry muttered tonelessly, focusing his attention on his meal.

Silence filled the dining hall around him upon his words, but Harry did not care.

"What...?", Draco muttered, somewhat astonished after a couple of seconds. "No fight left in you, Potter? No clever remark?"

"There is no point.", Harry shrugged and finished his food. "You are right, I'l most likely die during these tasks, probably quite early." Standing up, Harry gathered his stuff and looked at Draco. "You have been right about a lot of things, ever since first year actually."

And he had been. Draco had warned him against the Weasley's, particularly about Ron. Ignoring the astonished look Draco kept giving him, Harry stood and swiftly left the dining room.

Dangerous thoughts had occupied Harry the last hours, and this conversation only fueled his growing resolution.

He would claw for a way to survive with tooth and nail if he had to. He would do it alone, as everyone else had condemned him to.

* * *

Standing over the skin wrapped book in the pitch black room, Harry drew a deep breath.

In just a little over a month, he would face the first trial, something he was woefully unprepared for. He needed power right now. He needed an edge.

He needed to survive.

Steeling himself, he picked up the book, pushing away the instinctive disgust that filled him upon feeling the leathery texture of the book.

Sitting down, Harry placed the book upon the table and opened its page, the eerie weak lamplight barely lighting the pages.

 _...'I ask you to treat this book with respect. It is wrapped with the skin of my dead wife, as was her dying request in order to forever preserve my legacy.'_

Harry shuddered.

 _'To my knowledge, i am the last Lich that has not been killed. If you, whomever you are, intend to learn the contents of this book, then i implore you; do not tell anyone. Those who knew of my chosen affliction, once friend turned to enemy, and one such friend was the one to claim the unlife of my wife. Heed my warning, or see the same ill will fall upon you.'_

Lich? Unlife? Harry frowned as questions filled his head, but focused and read on.

 _'Within these pages you will find everything i have ever discovered about Necromancy, one of the old, true branches of magic. I would not be surprised if you have not heard of it. It has been forbidden for an incredibly long time, and those that have practiced it are currently, as i am writing these pages, being systematically purged from societies across the entire world.'_

 _Beware. True necromancy should not be approached lightly, a wrong or right step may very well lead to your death. Ironically, the strongest and deepest branches of necromancy cannot be approached by the living. If it is not already apparent, a Lich, just like a vampire, are undead.'_

Harry sucked in a deep breath. This was, without a doubt, incredibly dark. Moving to shut the book, something halted Harry's decision.

There were so many other books here, surely they could be of help as well?

...Yet Harry's curiosity compelled him to read on.

Slowly opening the book again, Harry continued to read.

He was just reading after all. What harm could it do?'


	2. Chapter 2 The First

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 2 The First**

 _'...A better option would be basilisk venom due to its corrosive properties. However, due to its rarity there does exist a solution with unicorn blood. See page 356 for the details of the ritual.'_

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly before casting a tempus to check the time. He still had over an hour before defense class. It would be the first of the year with the new professor and it was the only thing Harry had looked forward to so far.

Almost a week had went by since he discovered the hidden library and Ludvig's book.

The knowledge in this...abomination of a book, both frightened and intrigued Harry. Several times, Harry had put away the book and looked through some of the others, but he always came back to it.

He always found his way back to it, no matter how disturbed it made him. He had learned many spells, but few he had the morality to actually perform. The spells were dark, creating death, sickness and pestilence. He'd tried casting some, without victims of course, but he could feel the sickening touch of death upon each spell he'd attempted.

Yet, he couldn't find it in himself to stop.

He had been reading diligently, almost non stop since he'd begun. There were many... rituals, that would unlock powers he'd never thought imaginable. Most were intended for him to perform either as a vampire or a lich, so those were out of his range, yet there were some that was viable even as a human. The only dilemma that remained for Harry was both the risk and morality of several of them.

Harry stood up and stretched, before moving towards the dining hall.

He had not yet found anything that he knew without a doubt would help him in his coming trials, but there was one ritual he'd looked into that seemed interesting.

Ominously enough, the ritual had been called ' _Domination of all life'_. According to Ludvig, it would unlock the power to influence the will of all living and unliving beings. It was, if Ludvig was to be believed, the only power for a necromancer to control a large amount of raised dead, but Harry had no intentions of raising any dead just yet. He'd most likely get smited on the spot by Dumbledore if he was caught doing something so dark.

It would not do much good against human's either, not for anyone not a Lich, but it would, according to the texts, still be of use to dominate lesser and more beastly minds.

Many of these necromantic powers had little or no wand movements or incantations, but Harry supposed that was more common back in the age the book had been written. Most of the powers would come naturally, or instinctively. It seemed odd to Harry, but he had no other guidance than what Ludvig gave him.

The things he needed for the ritual was easy enough. He just had to sneak in and steal a little bit from Snape's potions cabinet.

Smiling slightly, Harry supposed that he would have to make sure to pick up some detection spell before attempting thievery, just in case Snape had warded his ingredients.

* * *

Harry thoughtfully left Moody's class, thinking about what he'd learned. While he'd known about the death spell ' _avada kadavra'_ , he'd only heard of 'imperio' and 'crucio' in passing and without much explanation to it.

He had noticed Neville looking quite sick after Moody's show with the crucio spell, but found himself caring little. It was not as if Neville had any care for Harry after all, having stayed just as silent as everyone else in the school wide bullying. True, Neville didn't owe Harry anything, but neither did Harry in regards for Neville.

While the crucio spell looked nasty, the truly scary one in Harry's eyes was the imperio. Not knowing if you could truly trust those close to you in fear of them being imperioused seemed truly horrifying. Harry wondered if the ritual he was considering would aid against it. The imperio spell seemed to work in somewhat similar ways, just more focused against a singular target.

Moody mentioned it was possible to fight off the Imperio. Maybe it was a question about intent and will? Most spells were like that after all, but it seemed too simple an answer.

Harry kept to himself the rest of the day until evening came, where he quietly gathered his invisibility cloak and left the rest of the gryffindors to snore in peace.

Using the maurader's map Harry was able to easily avoid any patrolling prefects until he arrived at the dungeons. Not finding any spells or warding at all, much to his great surprise, Harry snuck in and grabbed what he needed, leaving just as swiftly as he arrived.

Feeling quite content with the results after dumping everything he'd found in the chamber of secrets, he relaxed a bit too soon as he took off the invisibility cloak and entered the common room.

Lights were on, Ron sitting in a chair obviously waiting for him with a scowl on his face.

"Where have you been?", Ron muttered with a foul look on his face.

Unsure, Harry looked at him warily before making his way towards the sleeping quarters.

"Nowhere. Just been preparing."

"Of course.", Ron sneered from behind his back. "Guess the _hero_ need all the time he can get!"

Harry's hands clenched the cloak tightly as he reigned in his anger.

He was better than this. He would show Ron...

...He would show them all!

* * *

Days passed and things began looking up a bit as Hermoine began spending a little time with him. It felt good, finally having a conversation with someone who didn't sneer at him.

They sat together in Transfiguration class, practicing under the ever watchful eyes of McGonagall.

Harry had once had a lot of respect for the stern woman, but her failure to step in as head of Gryffindor as Harry's housemates systematically bullied him, he no longer held any care for the woman.

Watching the matchstick he was supposed to transfigure into a feather, Harry frowned and recalled a line from Ludvig's book...

 _'Magic, in all its entirety, is nothing more than a question of will and intent. While there are some exceptions to this, staffs, wands, spellbooks or any other item that wizards use to aid them in spellcasting, are in the end nothing more than just that. These tools are just means to control and focus spells, an embarrassing crutch if anything. Doing the same craft without these tools is simply a matter of control and practice.'_

Harry hummed as he thought upon Ludvig's words. Long ago, wands were most likely just one of many other methods of casting spells, or if Ludvig's scripts were to be believed, more common to not use at all.

But it made sense, in a strange way for Harry. Magic came from within them, did it not?

Putting the wand away, Harry slowly held his hand over the matchstick. Frowning in concentration, Harry attempted to do the same that he usually did with his wand.

...But nothing happened.

Pursing his lips, Harry took a deep breath. He felt it important to get the hang of this. Most of what was written in Ludvig's book were without tools such as a wand.

With intense concentration, Harry pushed out, biting his teeth together as he tried to force his magic to do as he wished of it. Seconds passed, before something slowly tore painfully within himself. Doing his best to ignore it, he latched onto it and pushed it out.

Forcing his magic out, he could feel it flowing out of him and everything it touched, like a soft flutter of wind. Feeling around with it for the matchstick, he managed to direct his magic into it.

...Or at least, he hoped he did.

But now what?

Harry furrowed his brows, eyes still closed. If magic was nothing more than a question of control, will and intent, then what would be the last step?

Their task was to transfigure it into a feather. The thought brought a memory to the surface, of his familiar Hedwig. He remembered the feel of his fingers running over the soft plumes of her neck...

Latching onto that feeling, that memory, Harry willed it into the matchstick, willing it to change.

...And felt it change under his magic.

It took only a second, enough for the transfiguration to complete before he lost his concentration in shock. In front of him, a white, soft plume, not unlike Hedwig's, laid on the desk in front of him.

"Astonishing!", a surprised bark made him suddenly jump in surprise. Looking up, Harry finally noticed McGonagall staring with wide open eyes. "Wandless transfiguration! At your age, Mr. Potter? When did you suddenly come upon such a talent?"

Harry noticed with sinking emotion how many of his classmates were paying attention to the sudden commotion.

"Just something i read, Professor.", Harry muttered demurely, extremely uncomfortable with the sudden attention. "Wanted to try it out."

"Well, whatever it was you attempted is clearly working for you. 10 points to Gryffindor!"

10 points. She must have been in a good mood that day, she usually never gave more than 5.

Smiling, Harry looked over at Hermoine only to see a foul expression on her face as she focused on her own matchstick. It was one of jealousy, one he'd seen often in Ron's face.

Sighing, Harry went back to his own assignment, deciding he would talk to her after the class was done. She didn't give him the opportunity though, as she packed her books and walked away briskly before he was even given a chance to follow the second the class ended.

A bitter feeling was left in Harry in her wake, his hands clenching angrily.

She avoided and ignored him from then on. Harry found himself glad of it.

* * *

Days went and the Tournament was rapidly approaching. The hazing got worse and worse and Harry was honestly considering wearing his invisibility cape to class.

Down and deep in the chamber of secrets, he'd cleared out the old shedded skin of the basilisk from the room where it rested. For over a week Harry had worked tirelessly, forgoing a lot of rest and sleep in order to prepare the room for the intended ritual.

The one that would allow him to enforce his will upon living and unliving creatures.

The way Harry saw it, the chances were great they would face many different trials. Maybe they would fight each other, or maybe nothing more than beasts. This ritual would give him an advantage over either option, although the exact explanations from Ludvig's texts were a little vague.

But no matter.

Standing up, Harry stretched and sighed deeply. He was tired, but he couldn't stop now. His eyes had darkened circles around them.

The ritual was finally prepared.

Intricate lines drawn in several magical mixtures ran along the floor of the room, a small open area in the middle where himself was supposed to lay when the ritual began. Ludvig had said the ritual might leave him incapacitated for a while, but it was a weekend day. He would miss nothing.

Undressing well away from the circle, Harry was eventually left in nothing. The cold, unclean stone under his feet left him shuddering.

Shockingly, and not without a sense of foreboding, Harry stepped warily towards the middle of the room until he was at the designated spot. Gingerly laying down, he took great care as to not disturb the lines that were drawn.

The book had explained quite vividly the risk of doing this wrong.

Closing his eyes as he laid on his back, Harry gasped involuntarily as the cold ground touched his back. Fear gripped him, but Harry would damn himself if he ever gave up now after so much work.

Giving himself a minute, Harry ignored his shivering and focused on calming his breathing.

Magic was about intent, after all. The intent needed to perform the ritual was not to be afraid.

Taking another deep breath and deciding himself sufficiently calmed, Harry pushed the magic out from his body. As quickly as he began, he could feel his magic latching onto the lines drawn upon the floor, the magical properties in the mixture they were drawn from slowly forcing his magic out of his core.

It was too late to go back now. The ritual was out of his hands.

Clenching his hands, Harry thought upon his treatment from the rest of the school and how his treatment went ignored by the staff.

He thoughts upon how his own housemates themselves joined in on the hazing and how his own best friends abandoned him for the pettiest of reasons.

 _"...Nutu magiae..."_ , Harry muttered and felt a riptide of magic getting forced out of his core painfully.

Thinking about it all, how the teacher's ignored his treatment, his friends abandoning him to face the trials alone and how the entire school treated him with contempt, an anger Harry had never felt before was drawn to the surface.

He would show them!

And it was with that thought, Harry drew upon his entire will, fixed, with the intention to dominate...

...The intent, to dominate ALL life!

 _"...Reficerentur vitae..."_ , Harry hissed and opened his eyes.

Suddenly, the pull on his core stopped.

Harry noticed the entire room was glowing with unnatural color and felt a spike of fear if he'd done it wrong.

...But then, all the accumulated magic in the room, crashed into him at once.

Magic roared in his ears and Harry felt like he was going deaf. His core burned and his head felt like it was exploding with painful sensation as his vision blared white. An agonized scream tore out from his lungs in desperation, but it was heard by none.

It felt like it went on for an eternity, but before his throat was even sore from the screams, it stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Shocked, Harry lied completely still upon the ground, staring up into the darkened ceiling above. He felt completely fine, as if the enormous amount of pain he'd just suffered had never have happened at all.

...Then a sudden sensation struck his mind.

He could feel... Something. He could feel, movement, far above him in the castle.

Harry frowned in thought and sat up gingerly, not trusting his own body.

He focused on the...presence, he could feel, shifting and moving far above. Some movement was outside of the castle as well, but Harry could feel that the presence he felt above himself was much smaller outside.

Harry did not understand. Was this not supposed to be a ritual to grant him the ability to influence others?

...Unless...

Harry's eyes widened.

Could it be? Could it be, that the presence he felt were that of each and every living being around him? Then how was it, that he could use this to influence, and perhaps even dominate the mind of creatures?

Standing up, Harry ignored the wave of nausea that hit him. He would confer with the book before setting out to get something to eat, giving his body a moment of rest.

He supposed he'd waited long enough on testing the things he'd taken it upon himself to learn.

Discovery, after all, demands experimentation.


	3. Chapter 3 Step Into My Parlor

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 3 Step Into My Parlor**

It was like having hundreds of small, tiny sandcorns moving around in his head all at once and being aware of every single one of them.

That was the best metaphor Harry could think to himself.

It was not uncomfortable, yet it was not possible for him to NOT be aware of them.

It was distracting, to say the least, to feel the mind, or presence, or whatever the hell it was of every single person in the entire castle. They each felt differently from each other as well, but Harry had no idea how to differentiate all of the many different minds that he was aware of.

Sitting in the dining hall for breakfast, Harry ate absentmindedly as he pretended to revise one of his assignments. It had been good to get a full night of sleep, sorely needed as well. But he now had trouble adjusting his newfound ability. Ludvig's book said little upon the matter in how to handle the sudden influx of... awareness, but Ludvig had also been a lich. Harry supposed he needed to take it into consideration that he was still human, and thus the results might differ.

A loud laugh drew his attention to the other side of the hall.

Draco was present at the Slytherin table, sitting with his usual goons, but seated next to a girl Harry did not recognize. She had long blonde hair, incredibly beautiful, but her face was marred by an incredibly bored and annoyed look. Obvious to everyone BUT Draco it seemed, as Draco constantly shot her smirking looks as the other's laughed at his jokes.

It was obvious Draco was flirting, but the girl seemed less than impressed.

A sudden devious thought struck Harry, and he smirked as he fixed his gaze upon the irritated girl.

No teacher's were present, so despite how little risk there might be for a first test run of his domination ability, the risk would be even more manageable.

Fixing his attention upon the girl, he searched out with his awareness focusing on finding her presence. He managed to focus on her presence quickly enough. Her presence felt... agitated, or at least Harry thought it did. It matched his visual observations in any case.

Concentrating, Harry focused his magic and latched onto her presence. Willing forth a burst of anger, he did his best to push his intent upon the girl.

Keeping his influence pushing, no visual difference was seen in the girl.

Suddenly, Draco laughed obnoxiously and bumped his shoulder into her. Her gaze darkened and Harry could feel her presence slowly begin to buzz like an angry bee hive. Eagerly, Harry kept pushing upon her anger and irritation, hoping to see a result.

A snarl grew upon the girl's face, before she picked up her glass, promptly emptying it in Draco's face. A yell of surprise came from everyone around them as the girl rose and briskly walked off.

Harry's eyes followed the girl, his attention fixed on her presence. The second he retreated his influence, apprehension filled the girl's face accompanied with shock, if Harry's gut was right.

He smiled and turned his attention back to his food. This had been a successful first try.

He'd have to experiment a bit more without risking any exposure by teachers.

He'd also have to test it on creatures of 'lesser mind', as the book had called it, such as beasts. Realizing he would either have to use his own or someone else's familiar or brave the forbidden forest, Harry grimaced slightly.

* * *

In the end, Harry decided that when night fell he would brave the forbidden forest. He had not the heart to test it on his familiar, nor any of the other. The people's pets were undeserving of such cruelty. Besides, it would be a much more valuable result if he tested it against more dangerous creatures, which was more likely what he would face in the trials only weeks ahead.

Apprehensively, Harry warily made his way through the forbidden forest covered in the invisibility cloak. He faintly remembered where he and Ron had entered the forest during their second year in order to find Hagrid's pet acromantula Aragog. His new ability made it easy to avoid any creature that was, their presence pressing in on his consciousness.

Harry questioned himself in his current actions. Going head first into an acromantula nest just to EXPERIMENT on a theory? Fair enough that he'd been sorted into Gryffindor for his stupid bravery, but this was borderline foolishness, and he knew it.

Truth was though, he'd managed to escape the nest in his second year. If he couldn't handle this, he'd never make it in the tournament.

He'd tested his domination against some more students after the incident in the dining hall, but his influence seemed to stretch no further than being able to give a discreet influence. The book promised a stronger effect against beasts, but Harry did not feel so sure right now.

But Harry had done his research. Acromantula hunted primarily by sight and touch. Their auditory senses were nothing to speak of, but apparently, they were able to feel the softest of vibrations through both air and surface.

Harry had spend some time learning the appropriate spells to hide himself sufficiently. Even so, his nerves were still there.

The silence was the loudest sound present in the forest, Harry's charmed footsteps not disturbing a single twig nor sound. The silence was pressing heavily, his pulse almost sounding like it was pounding like drums in his ear.

Eventually, he reached the web covered forest area that he remembered from so long ago. Taking a moment to rethink his actions one last time as he felt the massive amount of presence ahead, he entered the area, stepping carefully into danger.

Harry was not completely suicidal. He did not want to step into the deep of their nests, but considering how many years the Acromantulas had been nesting in the area, most of the local wildlife should have learned to keep clear of their territory. They would be forced to travel outside their own areas to hunt, and Harry hoped he'd be able to catch one or two by themselves.

Soon enough, just as he hoped, he picked up a singular presence not too far from himself and Harry moved to intercept.

Seconds later, a dark gray, yet smaller than what he could remember, acromantula skittered across the ground a short distance from himself. It was half the size of Harry himself so it must have been early of age, or at least in comparison to Aragog. Even so, Harry knew Acromantula venom to be highly paralytic. If he was bitten here, even by accident, nobody would come looking for him before he'd be eaten.

Reaching out with his magic, Harry slammed his will over the mind of the Acromantula. He nearly widened his eyes upon its reaction. A short chittering sound of pain or confusion, Harry was not sure, and the beast stilled.

Breathless, Harry felt the still and calm mind of the beast as it waited, motionless. Harry had expected more, but he guessed the book did not exaggerate.

Probing for other presence close by and finding none, Harry removed the cloak, carefully watching the beast. As it did not even react to his presence, a rush of elation filled Harry as he smiled gleefully.

 _'Look at me.'_ , Harry willed it.

With quick and controlled motion, the acromantula turned to him, legs moving harmoniously to face its body in a new direction.

Nearly beginning to laugh like a madman, Harry reigned in his glee. He could lose his shit later. He was still here for a reason.

Harry took a couple of minutes to test the limitations of his domination. It was much easier than what he thought it would be. He could simply will it with the intent to build a web between two trees, and the spider would comply and act as his will. He could either will it to do specific actions or tasks as himself wanted it to do.

This feeling of power was nothing short but exhilarating. It made him feel more powerful than anything what Harry could have ever imagined. He now understood why the Imperio spell had been such a popular spell among many wizards before his time.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Harry released his domination from the creature and pulled on his cloak of invisibility. Just as he turned to walk back to the castle, he noticed the Acromantula sitting there, with a still and calm presence about it, despite Harry no longer having any further hold over it.

Looking at it curiously, Harry wondered if it would need time to regain its own will or if it were forever subservient to his own from this point on.

An idea struck Harry, and he sighed at his own stupidity.

 _'Discovery demands experimentation...'_ , he chuckled at himself, damning himself for ever having come up with that line.

Pushing his will effortlessly over the little Acromantula, Harry willed it to follow him.

He would take it back to the castle with him.

On his way back, he went over a million reasons why it would be a bad idea, but the more he thought about it, the more exhilarated it made him. Besides, he wouldn't have to constantly come back to the forbidden forest for his experiments.

Suddenly, a loud roar called out, thundering across the night sky. Frightened by the loud sound that suddenly broke the silence, Harry jumped and the Acromantula jumped into a defensive stance on its hind legs, raising its front in an angry warning. Harry idly noted it did that without a prompt from himself, most curiously, but quickly got back into trying to identify where the sound came from.

The sound of yelling and glowing light came from the distance through the forest, and again against his better judgement, Harry let his curiosity get the better of him.

At his will, the Acromantula skittered under his invisibility cloak as it was big enough for both of them. He was a bit nervous about letting the spider so close, but he trusted his ability now.

Eventually they got close enough to constantly hear the sound of panicked yelling and angry growls of beasts Harry had no idea what were. Slowly creeping up a small hill, Harry carefully peeked over the edge.

...And his eyes widened in shock.

In 4 cages, spread out in a large area, were dragons. Dragons of different shapes and sizes, growling, hissing and spewing fire angrily as many different men, Harry guessed them to be dragon handlers considering the expertise they showed.

Harry knew he should have felt fear upon looking at the frightening creatures... Yet he couldn't shake the feeling of utter amazement that filled him upon looking at the powerful creatures. One in particular, black in scales and spikes covering it looked like the most viscous and angriest of all the 4 dragons.

Realization dawned on Harry.

4 contestants, 4 dragons. Their very first trial was something to do with dragons, one of the meanest and toughest creatures for wizards to engage due to their high resistance to magic.

This tournament was the real deal. A sense of trepidation filled Harry.

...And then... Yet another idea, most curious, struck Harry.

Freezing up, Harry considered his ludicrous idea. Based on nothing more than a small and extremely thin theory, he couldn't help but smile wickedly.

After all...

"...Discovery demands experimentation...", Harry muttered as his eyes sat fixed on the most viscous looking dragon.

With a near manic grin, Harry reached out with his will...

...And slammed it down over the mind of the creature.


	4. Chapter 4 Change of Heart

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 4 Change of Heart**

Harry smiled as he ate his breakfast. Megan Haùfmann, Ravenclaw, under the influence of his will just flung her food at her best friend over a small argument that, unsurprisingly escalated very quickly.

Seeing their argument getting quickly broken up by their prefects, Harry turned back to his food with a discreet little grin. They both wore the 'Potter stinks' badges, so he felt no pity for them despite straining their relationship. Harry had spent the last couple of days this way, enjoying sweet, yet childish revenge against so many of those that had it out for him.

It wasnt enough. He wanted them to hurt more for what they had done, but it was a start. It was all he could do for now, as Ludvig's book had clearly described his power as limited as long as he was only human. Harry would guess his influence would bear little weight against someone if they were aware of his machinations.

He could no longer see why he'd had so much preconceptions against this kind of magic. With a little bit of research, he'd found other books on rituals as well, some that might even improve his eyesight. It would be good to get rid of the glasses, but the process of preparing the ritual was a bit... dark.

Standing up, he walked steadily towards the chamber of secrets. There was no school today and Harry intended spending his time uncovering more of Ludvig's work. He also needed to begin and practice the Obliviation spell, sooner or later, as a last resort to cover his tracks should anyone ever discover his new inclinations. People, as Ludvig himself had said, were narrow minded and shortsighted. What many considered dark was, in all honesty, nothing more than tools to be used by the user's responsibility. It was people who decided what to do with the spells they learned after all. No use in condemning magic for the choices of people.

He easily entered the chambers without fear of being followed, breathing out in relief as the dark chambers greeted him at the bottom of the castle.

Entering the first tunnels, he felt the presence of his new pet Acromantula, smirking as he could see some of the web covered tunnels that she now resided in. By his will, she left the main tunnel alone, since Harry used that to travel back and forth from the library.

Acromantula, Harry had discovered, were incredibly quick and quiet when they wanted too. Harry had willed her to paralyze any interlopers in the chambers and keep them prisoner for him, SHOULD anyone actually intrude upon his chambers.

Rats were plentiful, breeding in the hundreds down here, so he did not have to worry about her running out of food, at least not yet until she got a lot bigger.

By the time he entered the Library in the innermost chamber, Harry pondered what name he should give her. Should he give her a name, named after the greek spider goddess Arachne, whom challenged Athena herself? Or a more inconspicuous name, like Elize, for example?

Arachne was a bit too high profile to his liking... Maybe Elize would suit his new pet just fine.

Elize, he decided, would be the name he'd give her.

Sitting down upon in front of the table, he gingerly moved the book of Ludvig aside and reached out with his mind.

A weak, little lesser mind was close, and Harry effortlessly dominated its thoughts. A little rat scurried out of the dark towards Harry just a second after. Harry picked it up and set it upon the table where it waited patiently and completely still.

Pursing his lips, Harry supposed he should get started. He needed to test his new spells, chances were if he could make them work for the rats, they would work just as well against bigger and more complex creatures as well. The school would ward him from the ministry trace that was on his wand, so he HAD to learn as much of what he could do wandlessly before the year was over.

And he had ALOT of rats to practice on.

With that in mind, Harry decided to was finally time to take a leap and turned his wand on the little rat.

 _"Imperio."_

* * *

Monday eventually came too soon, and Harry found himself sitting without a partner in potions class, which suited him just fine. Snape, for once, seemed to leave him alone for whatever reason Harry couldn't fathom, but it was a welcome silence.

His new solitude and inclinations towards magic opened his patience for potions, and Harry found himself with a newfound interest that he did not have in the class before. Several of the rituals he was interested in after all needed some degree of potions work.

"E-Excuse me, Harry?", a timid voice broke his attention. Quickly glancing over his shoulder, he saw Collin standing there with a cautious expression of his face, eyeing Snape warily whom sneered down at them both. "Professor Dumbledore wishes to see you by the entrance. Something about the tournament."

"Thank you.", Harry muttered genuinely before standing up and looking towards his sneering teacher. "May i leave, Professor?"

Snape looked like he wanted to say something, but finally just nodded, surprising Harry even further in the way he was treating him. It did not take long to clean up his potions set and quickly left the classroom before Snape decided enough was enough.

Harry found the entry hall easily enough where he was greeted by an overeager Ludo Bagman. Harry didn't care much for the man, the little suck up, but smiled and greeted him none the less.

"Hello Harry.", Dumbledore smiled kindly at him.

Harry shoved away his resentment and smiled back, ignoring how Fleur and Krum sneered and muttered under their breath at him, well, Fleur the most out of the two of them. Cedric did not really seem to care he was even there, something which suited Harry fine.

Ollivander however, was someone whom Harry was glad to see for once, if only to see a friendly face whom had yet to have wronged him.

The weighing of the wands went painlessly, and unsurprisingly, Ollivander spent a few extra seconds checking his wand when the time came. Harry had almost expected it, considering whom used the twin wand.

A reporter, Rita Skeeter gathered them up for a group picture afterwards. When they were done, Harry turned to leave, eager to get back to class.

"Harry, a moment please! May i call you Harry?", Rita called out to him, a hand holding his shoulder and rooting him in place.

Anger surged upon being held so casually, but Harry smiled kindly at her.

"Something i can help you with?", Harry muttered, his voice sounding gruff even to his own ears. No wonder, considering how little he was speaking nowadays.

"Well, an intervju of course!", Rita grinned slimely and pulled him towards a broom closet. "You're the youngest contender in history! People will want to know your story after all!"

Harry considered a moment if he should refuse. Reaching out with his will and focusing on her presence, it was obvious to Harry that she was only after a story that would sell for money.

Harry did not doubt she'd twist the truth in order the raise the number of papers sold.

Quickly pushing his will down on the woman's mind, Harry smiled benignly as she opened her mouth.

She would write her story... the way HE wanted her to.

* * *

 _'Story of the Boy-who-lived and the Triwizard Tournament!'_

That was the headline of every paper that filled the dining hall during their breakfast. Having just read the article, Harry put away the papers satisfied with Rita's work. She had a gift for words, clearly, but Harry did not regret influencing her one single bit during their intervju.

The paper explained Harry's story exactly as it had been, word for word. While the paper had also insinuated the entire school's bullying, or inaction to step in in the case of the teachers, Harry had refused to point fingers and blame like a petulant child.

Harry absentmindedly noted the somber mood among many, especially at the Gryffindor table. He had no intentions of taking any of his former friends back, but it was still satisfying to see them having second thoughts.

A small part of him wanted them to suffer more, but he pushed the notion aside.

"...Hey, Harry...", a soft voice spoke up from across the table.

Looking up from from his food, Harry noted Angelina sitting across from him with a demure expression on her face. Harry noted with amusement that she did no longer wear the 'Potter stinks!' badge he remembered seeing her with.

"Can i help you?", Harry muttered passively, seeing the girl obviously beating herself up over this.

"I just...", she sighed. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should never hav-"

"Keep your apology.", Harry interrupted scoffing slightly. "You never owed me anything."

"O-Oh.", Angelina sputtered in surprise. Relief seemed to flood into her before smiling at Harry, obviously taking his words for something else than what he meant. "I'm glad! I know you're probably busy right now, but next year we can play quiditch again and catch up-"

"I have no intention of ever playing quiditch with anyone of you anymore, Angelina.", Harry interrupted rudely, but he couldn't find it in himself to care. His temper was flaring and patience wearing thin. "And while you never owed me anything, i still remember you quite vividly with one of your petty badges, making light of the fact i might just die in the coming days. Please, go sit with your friends. Id much rather we happily ignore one another."

Ignoring her shocked expression, Harry focused on his food. With dismay, he noted how quiet the hall had grown and Harry realized he'd spoken louder than what he intended.

Angelina looked like she wanted to say something, but shame seemed to win out as she stood and walked away.

Sighing, Harry stood and left his unfinished meal. The silence was uncomfortable, very much unlike the comfortable silence of his chambers.

Feeling himself in a foul mood, Harry ignored the whispers that broke out as he left.

He supposed he could work on his assignments as he waited for class.

* * *

The day of the tournament finally fell upon them, but Harry felt an almost unnatural confidence and calm settle over him as he and the other champions moved towards the tents where they were supposed to wait for the challenge.

He knew he should be worried, but he was not. He felt prepared and ready.

Crouch, Bagman and Dumbledore, alongside the rest of the Heads of school, gave them a few words of encouragement before Crouch presented a bag. Each and everyone picked up a charmed, miniature dragon of different sizes and shapes.

When it was finally Harry's turn, he picked up a familiar shape, black and horned.

"The Hungarian Horntail...", Crouch muttered before shaking his head. "Unfortunately, due to our handlers incompetence, the horntail will not be facing any opponent in the tournament. Therefore, you Harry, whom picked the Horntail will wait until last and face whichever dragon is still the most fit to fight."

Harry nodded having expected this, yet knew Crouch withheld the truth.

Crouch proceeded to tell them the challenge. The dragons were mothers taken from their nesting. A golden egg had been placed among their eggs and that was their objective. The second their hands were upon that egg, they would have completed the challenge.

Calm like ever, Harry almost smirked at this. It would be incredibly easy. He'd have to fake the use of his wand, as he did not wish to raise too much suspicion with wandless AND wordless magic.

Time passed and Harry waited patiently.

A rustle from the flap of the tent disturbed his peace, Hermoine bursting inside with a rush towards him.

"Oh Harry!", Hermoine choked and before Harry could protest, she flung her arms around her in an embrace. "I'm so worried! You will be facing dragons!"

"...I am quite aware.", Harry muttered, grimacing as he gently pushed Hermoine off himself. He would have once be glad for her presence, but that was not the current case.

"Harry, you do not understand! You're not ready for something like this! You should-"

"If the only reason you're here is to tell me what i cannot do, you're wasting your time."

Hermoine's face flared red with anger for a second, before she calmed and looked at him with a sad expression.

"...I came because i care about you, Harry."

Harry snorted as the trumpet that signaled his time to enter the arena called. Giving Hermoine a long glance, he shook his head and moved to the exit.

"You've done a poor job showing it."

Taking a deep breath, Harry lifted the flap of the tent.

"Me and Ron have really messed it up, haven't we...?", Hermoine's soft voice made him stop in the opening of the tent. "Is there no way we can go back to what we once were?"

Breathing deeply, Harry steeled himself.

It would be so easy, to just forgive and forget. Go back to the comfortable zone of his 2 best friends.

"...I don't want to go back.", Harry muttered and strode onward.

He had long decided to not go back, in all matters. He would keep his word.


	5. Chapter 5 Facade

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 5 Facade**

In the peaceful solitude of his chambers, Harry held the golden egg with a small smirk playing on his lips. It was surprisingly light, despite its size, his fingers digging into its frame as it rested in his outstretched palm, softly illuminated by the lamp on the table.

Looking towards Ludvig's book, Harry smiled gratefully. It was thanks to Ludvig's work that he was now alive. Not thanks to his friends nor Dumbledore.

Just the book and his own hard work was to be thanked for his swift and easy victory.

* * *

 _Slamming his will hard over the dragon's mind,_ _Harry felt it quickly fall under his influence. Wasting no time, Harry falsely and uneedingly swished his wand. A simple pretense of a distraction, giving the illusion he was performing wordless magic. At the same time, he willed the dragon to attack some formation of rocks at the side of the arena, momentarily stunning the entire arena as he simply walked up to the undefended eggs and claimed his prize._

 _Regarding the golden egg with a curios stare as he felt the magic surrounding it, Harry looked up and strode with purpose towards the exit of the arena._

 _The arena was in complete silence apart from the sounds of rocks being destroyed by the dragon, and Harry already longed for the silence of his chambers._

 _He decided he'd go straight for the castle, instead of waiting for the judges to give their scores. They could fail him for all he cared._

* * *

Harry set the egg down on the table and stretched lazily in the old and fragile chair he sat upon. He'd stressed himself so bad over the last weeks, but now it almost felt like as if the stress was evaporating from his body by the second.

He suddenly felt increasingly tired, and was reminded how little he'd slept over the course of the last weeks.

Harry chuckled and rubbed his eyes. He'd earned himself a good sleep. He had a good long while before the next test and the golden egg wouldn't go anywhere.

Casting a quick tempus to check the time, Harry decided he'd catch a quick nap before dinner. There were no classes that day, so Harry could afford himself some time off right now.

Leaving his chambers, he trudged along the corridors in thought on his way towards the gryffindor chambers. He paid any passerby's no attention, although he did notice an even larger amount of missing 'Potter Stinks' badges from most.

Finally arriving at the portrait, he sighed tiredly as he entered.

 _ **"Congratulations!"**_

Harry jumped in surprise by the sudden loud noise as he entered the common room.

His housemates stood proudly as they waited for him right inside, with food, drink and several banners of the gryffindor house upon the walls. It was obvious they'd prepared some sort of surprise for his sake.

Walking slowly into the common room as he processed the scene before him, his housemates greeted him with smiles and laughter.

"What's going on?", Harry nearly stammered, and cursed himself for the stupidity of his question.

"Your victory, of course!", Kate hugged him before he could protest. "You got more points than any of the other contestants!"

"You did good Harry!"

More well wishes from those around, and Harry smiled tiredly at them.

The fucking NERVE of these people!

Harry couldn't believe it. Beneath his polite smile, he seethed furiously at these pretenders. Just a week ago, Harry could remember so many of them, those of his own house wearing badges that directly spoke against him.

Smiling and nodding at everyone as he slowly pushed through towards the bedrooms, Harry had to restrain himself from doing something he knew he would regret.

Their touch and their words disgusted him.

But he supposed, that was what he should have expected. Before in their petty jealousy, they shunned him. Now, in his glorious victory, they wanted to share and bask in it.

Smiling, as if their treatment of him had never happened.

As Harry excused himself, as he was tired, his smile dissipated and made way for a foul scowl as he stepped into the darkness of the stairwell.

He would never again let himself be used by these worms.

He eventually closed the door to the bedroom behind him and sighed.

One lone presence was present in the bedroom. Harry had a sneaking suspicion as in who it might be that was hiding in the darkness next to the door, but he pretended not to notice as he stepped towards his bed.

Just as he was about to get undressed, he heard footsteps from behind himself.

"I talked with Hermoine."

Harry froze. His assumptions had been correct and it seemed as if Ron had finally decided to approach him yet again.

"What do you want Ron?", Harry muttered as he continued getting undressed.

"We have been together through everything since first year, and now you just up and decide you don't want anything to do with us anymore?"

Ron's voice was low, but held an edge Harry could not remember having heard in his voice before. Feeling his presence, Harry tried to make out what it felt like, but it was still difficult. Harry would guess it felt angry, but he was not sure.

"I seem to remember you both made that decision for yourself.", Harry muttered with a frown and turned towards Ron. Harry noticed Ron's foul expression and crossed his arms. He stood closer than what he was comfortable with.

"We argued.", Ron muttered with a scowl. "Its what friends do. They argue, they make up and move on. If we'd burn our bridges every time friends had an argument, nobody would ever get along."

A surge of anger burst forth in Harry's mind, but he seized control of himself. He couldn't afford doing something he shouldn't.

"I found it to be a little more than 'just an argument'. The both of you left me to face a challenge i was never supposed to be ready to face by myself. Instead of believing my words that i did NOT cheat my way into this tournament, you decided that in spite of our many years of friendship, you'd leave me to face it alone."

"I tried to warn you! I knew about the challenge from my brother Charlie. He's one of the dragon handlers here. I tried to get Hermoine and Hagrid to tell you, and for Hagrid to show you the area where they held the dragons, but they couldn't find you!"

Harry sucked in a breath of air, before slowly turning around to regard Ron and his angry glare.

These news were surprising...

"...But does it matter...?", Harry whispered, his lips barely moving as he voiced his thoughts. Ron narrowed his eyes in suspicion, as the words were spoken too low for him to have heard. Harry cleared his voice and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I appreciate the thought, i truly do, but the result ended up the same none the less. It doesn't lessen in any way how you nor the rest of the house treated me."

Ron's gaze darkened further, his lips tightening.

"You're an arrogant arse, no better than Malfoy."

Curiously, Harry found himself smirking in amusement from the insult. Not very innovative, yet had Harry stayed the same as he had weeks ago, he would have been furious from the petty insult.

"And you share as much loyalty to your friends as a snake.", Harry muttered, smirking at his former best friend.

A cruel idea burst forth into Harry's head.

He could feel Ron's anger from his words, buzzing in his presence like an angry bee.

Harry wanted further justification. Harry for the first time in his life, **WANTED** to hate his former friend.

 _'...Hit me..._ ', a single thought rang out in Harry's head.

A big part of him screamed out in protest as he pushed the intent upon Ron's angry mind. A part of him refused to burn this last bridge, but Harry couldn't resist trying as he pushed his intent upon his friend.

Gazing into Ron's eyes, Harry kept pushing, slowly stoking the embers that was roaring to life.

 _'HIT ME!'_

Ron's face morphed into a snarl as he lunged forward.

Almost gleefully, Harry closed his eyes in resignation.

Harry was no stranger to pain. He'd grown up with it for as long as he could remember after all. The sharp pain that burst from his lip dulled quickly before Harry felt disorientation hit him. The back of his head slammed into the bedside table as he went down to the ground, sprawled out across the ground next to his bed.

His vision swam as he blinked and tried to get his bearings. Disorientation vanished quickly enough for Harry to see Ron disappear out the door with a mortified expression on his face.

He slammed the door after him, leaving Harry alone in the room, blood running down his broken lip as he slowly sat up against the table.

It was a bittersweet moment. The last bridge to his former self, his **weak** minded self was finally burned, yet with it went so many sweet memories.

A moment of doubt filled him before Harry shook his head. He wouldn't look back.

Shoving away the dark emotions lurking in his chest, Harry smirked and scowled across the room where Ron had went.

He'd given Ron that one freely.

Should there ever be another, Ron would regret it with all of his being.


	6. Chapter 6 Where the Grass is Wilting

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 6 Where the Grass is Wilting**

The golden egg stood upon the table in Harry's study, deep within the chamber. Harry sat by its side, glaring at it with frustration. A week had passed, and he'd come no closer to solving the apparent puzzle.

McGonagall had come by him one day, lecturing him in how rude it had been to ignore the judges and leave the arena without receiving the score, before finally getting to the point and informing him that the egg was supposed to be the riddle that would be revealing the next task.

He still had plenty of time, but he'd expected more from himself after a week of study. Ludvig's book proved useless in its endeavor, as every time Harry opened the egg it emitted a loud shrieking sound that Harry couldn't bear listening too.

McGonagall had also dropped another bombshell on him. They would be hosting a Yule Ball.

A ball.

And of course, as luck would have it, as a champion, he HAD to be there.

Harry sighed and leaned forward to rest his head in his hands.

He wouldn't want to go into the open like that to begin with, but as a champion he was supposed to open the ball alongside the others, dancing with a partner in front of everyone.

It was ludicrous. He couldn't dance, nor did he want to dance with anyone, much less in front of a petty crowd. He supposed he could fake an illness, or induce himself one. Unfortunately, a part of him was telling himself that doing so would be pathetic.

He hated that little voice of his consciousness sometimes.

Resentment growing in his chest, Harry stood and stretched. He'd gotten another letter from Sirius a couple of days ago. The thought of it brought a smile to his face.

His godfather had so far been nothing but sympathetic to him, but Harry was growing more and more annoyed every time his godfather said 'Trust in Dumbledore'.

But, Harry supposed they'd just have to agree to disagree.

Deciding he needed a break, Harry put on his outer robe and began to walk for the exit of the chamber.

* * *

The air was beginning to grow chilly outside, but Harry found himself welcoming the pleasant cool air. The castle, with all of its inhabitants, could become stifling more often than not. Walking around for awhile, mostly ignoring most of the passerbyers that were outside as well, Harry eventually decided he'd visit Hedwig.

On his way there, Harry had to work hard to avoid frowning or snarling.

Several girls he passed gave him long glances, giggling and greeting him when he passed. He found it hypocritical of them, when they like the rest had treated him like shit for the last months. However, it seemed that winning and leading in score after passing the first trial was enough to sway the fickle minds of lesser people.

How frustrating. How utterly shallow.

Despite his reservations, Harry smiled politely yet ignored the many girls obvious intentions to gain his attention.

On his way up to the tower where the owls were, Harry slowed as he noticed a presence, clearly different than the many, many owls that were there.

It was a human mind no doubt, strangely familiar, yet full of doubt and desperation.

Curiously, Harry stilled his footsteps and walked slowly up the remaining steps.

Peeking around the corner at the top, Harry saw a young girl his own age.

She stood by one of the open wide windows that the owns flew out from, a discarded letter at her feet.

Harry quickly noticed the slytherin green colors on her robe and decided he's rather come back later.

...And then he noticed the tears slowly falling from her face, a dead expression set in her eyes as her hands grasped unto the windowsill.

Her expression made him pause and narrow his eyes in observation.

It took him a moment, but after looking at her for a few seconds he finally recognized the blond hair on her head and her beautiful features.

It was the girl of his very first experiment. The girl Draco had been courting. Harry had not paid neither Draco nor any slytherins any attention as of late, as they had left him well enough alone. Harry found himself more than willing to do the same.

The girl was obviously extremely distraught over something though. Reaching out with his mind, Harry prodded gently at her mind, but found it easily felt as a torrent of broken emotions.

The amount of resignation and despair...

...Was she contemplating killing herself?

Looking at her curiously for a moment, Harry took a brazen step inside towards Hedwig.

"Are you sure you want to do that?", Harry said clearly, ignoring the girl as he approached Hedwig.

The girl gasped and flung herself around, hands covering her mouth in shock, surprise evident on her entire body language.

Harry seemingly ignored her as he greeted Hedwig with a smile, rubbing her chin with his fingers, but kept a firm inner eye upon her presence.

He sensed confusion...Wariness...

"W-Who...?", The girl stammered for a moment, before gathering herself. "Potter?"

"Yes.", Harry nodded, and turned towards the girl to meet her eyes, on hand still trailed on Hedwig. "And you are?"

The girl licked her dry lips, furiously wiping her face in embarrassment as she looked away.

"E-Excuse me...", she muttered before walking briskly towards the exit.

"Were you going to kill yourself?", Harry muttered, keeping a passive expression on his face.

At his words, the girl froze, her back still turned towards him.

Sensing anger from such a rude and sudden question, Harry quickly pushed his presence against her's.

 _'Calm down and trust me...'_ , Harry willed at her mind, frowning in concentration. It was the first time he influenced the same human to such a degree a second time. It was a huge risk, which he knew keenly as he grasped onto his wand beneath his robe. _'Tell me.'_

As he worked against her mind's resistance, he noticed her growing more confused, before resignation settled in, her shoulders loosing tension. She was obviously not thinking very clearly to begin with.

"...Why do you think that was my intention?", she muttered, back still turned.

"Just a feeling.", Harry lied effortlessly. "Am i correct to assume you received some bad news?", Harry tilted his head, gesturing towards the fallen letter by the window.

The girl took a moment as her mind seemed to fall in on itself.

Sensing her reluctance, Harry pushed against her mind, willing her to trust him and to tell him.

"You could say that...", the girl muttered as she turned back towards Harry. She truly was a beauty, despite the tears across her face. "Ugh...", the girl chuckled remorsefully, shaking her head with a grim smile as tears yet again filled her eyes, unknowing of Harry's manipulations of her feelings. "Forgive me, I'm a mess. I really should get going."

"I'm not stopping you, but i honestly do not mind.", Harry shrugged, inwardly willing her to stay. "Forgive me for asking, but what news could be so horrible you'd consider taking your own life?"

Harry had no illusion that the girl would never even have stopped to look at him had it not been for his power. She would have left immediately as she originally intended if she was left unmanipulated.

Harry had not even noticed how secondhand the action of manipulating someone's mind and feelings had become.

"Its...I...", the girl frowned and shook her head, clearly reluctant as Harry pushed down on her mind. "Merlin, i shouldn't... I cant believe I'm even considering...", the girl stopped and Harry pursed his lips.

Perhaps a little verbal motivation.

"By chance... Has it anything to do with what happened in the dining hall some weeks ago?"

The blonde haired girl gave off a sound a mixture of a giggle and a sniffle.

"Even the gryffindors remember it seems...", the girl shook her head before leaning up against the wall, a long look cast out the nearby window. "It's not what you think though. A little sass from the Malfoy prince because i cant stand his attitude isn't what makes me consider... You know..."

"Then what, if i may ask?"

The girl sighed before giving Harry a dead glaze, remnants of her tears lingering on her cheeks.

"His father wrote to my family after the... incident...", the girl frowned, obviously remembering the incident. "My family is very old and ambitious, hence why i was probably placed in slytherin. Malfoy's father however, as I'm sure you've heard, has the ear of the minister himself. Needless to say, my family was quite incensed at hearing how i was treating the Malfoy heir." The girl suddenly giggled almost deliriously. "Apparently, they had been entertaining the idea to give me off in a marriage contract with said heir."

Harry sucked in a deep breath between his teeth. Marriage contract? It seemed the old families of England were stuck even farther behind than the rest of the magical society already was.

"Well, at least you dodged that bullet, yes?", Harry smiled kindly at the girl. He didn't know why, but he felt sort of bad for her. He honestly had no idea who or how she normally was, but he figured it was just his teenage hormones acting up.

A spike of something in the girl's presence made Harry loose his smile as the girl seemed to sink into herself with a despaired look in her face.

"...They are marrying me off to someone else instead.", the girl eventually relented, her entire posture looking as if she wanted nothing more than to die or disappear.

Her head was faced downwards, her hair covering her face as she leaned against the wall.

Harry didn't know what to say.

"...He's well above his 60's.", the girl continued and Harry's eyes widened in shock. "...But he's a wealthy lord with a seat on the council within the ministry. My parents have already decided...", her voice, a bare whisper now as she gestured towards the discarded letter on the ground. "...They said maybe a husband would keep me in line... From further embarrassing them..."

Harry closed his eyes, feeling a headache on the way.

This was his fault.

There was no other way around it. The girl was obviously used to having to act and put up a facade around people, especially around creeps like Malfoy, but Harry's machinations had brought this upon her, when influencing her to grow more and more angry.

Harry had found it funny when it happened, yet now the joke failed to amuse him.

He had never expected this. Guilt flooded him from having doomed the girl to such a fate. Harry realized the importance of family and how society worked for people as young as them. They had no right or clout to decide anything at all, since such decisions were left to those responsible for them, typically their family.

If her family actually had the right to force her into such a horrible marriage...

Harry shuddered.

For the first time in his life, he felt disgusted with the wizarding world. The world he'd had nothing but love for since he was introduced to it from his dreary muggle existence.

How could people get away with doing something like this? Condemning such a young girl to an unwanted marriage with someone that could have been her grandfather.

Anger welled up in Harry as he opened his eyes and looked at the girl. Her shoulder were shaking slightly.

It pained him to see her and know he was responsible.

Walking towards her, Harry slowly reached around her, probing her mind for acceptance. A surge of reluctance welled up inside her as Harry began to hold her, but Harry quickly willed her to accept and find comfort in his arms.

She must have been emotionally exhausted, as she accepted his will almost immediately.

As if a dam broke, she grasped unto his robe and began wailing as Harry pressed himself close to her.

As she cried into his shoulder, Harry couldn't feel any sort of presence anywhere close to where they were. Maybe it was petty of him, but he didn't want anyone to see him like this. He doubted many of his housemates would approve, seeing him holding a slytherin student so tenderly and he'd grown comfortable with the polite distance he had with them for now. A part of him was saying they could burn in hell, but logic argued another direction.

In any case, they were alone for now.

Stroking the girl's hair and back soothingly as she cried, Harry pursed his lips. So far, he'd used his new powers and interests for nothing but his own selfish ends. Perhaps he could take responsibility for the fallout of his actions and give something back to someone in need?

Harry almost chuckled. His 'saving people' thing, as his former friends had called it was not quite out of his system it seemed.

If anything, the girl might eventually even prove to be useful.

Minutes went by until the girl finally began to calm under his soothing ministration.

"What is your name?", Harry murmured as he gazed down at the girl in his arms.

Slowly, almost deliberately, the girl looked up at him from behind the messy bangs of her long, blond hair.

Her warm breath hit Harry's face from their proximity and Harry felt a drop in his stomach.

Hey eyes were a stunning color of almost glowing green, a mirror of his own. The tear stains on her face did little in staining her beauty.

"Daphne.", The girl whispered back, a small smile growing on her face. "My name is Daphne Greengrass."


	7. Chapter 7 Something Drastic

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 7 Something Drastic**

Elize had grown nicely over the last weeks since Harry had brought her to the castle. She was already bigger than Harry himself and had surprised him with the rate of which Acromantula's apparently grew.

Her carapace was a blackish grey color, her many eyes looking like the pits of the void itself. Harry had been a bit apprehensive at first when he willed her to appear before him, but his control proved ever dominant.

In a dreading fascination, Harry had tried touching her, but her oddly rough and stingy haired exterior made it less enticing.

She was now too big to ever take out of the chambers again, unless he risked exposure as Elize was now too big to bring under his cloak. He had been experimenting with the disillusion charm, but found it difficult to master. It would probably be even more difficult casting over a large magical creature like Elize, especially since the Acromantulas, like so many other magical creatures were born with a distinct resistance to magic.

He was beginning to grow worried that her diet on rats were no longer sufficient, nor entirely healthy as it did not offer a lot of variety in nutrients.

It was then, as he sat under the gloaming lights of his chambers that he suddenly had an idea.

The basilisk had access throughout the entire school during their second year. Harry severely doubted it left throughout the bathrooms every time it had assaulted someone, surely it would have been discovered earlier if that was the case.

Smirking slightly, Harry leaned back in his seat. His control of the domination of lesser minds let him know where each and every single little presence was. Perhaps it was time to challenge himself further, and see if the numerous rats in the chambers couldn't be of more use than what they already had been.

Closing his eyes, Harry focused on the small, almost insignificant minds of the countless rats around him, both inside and outside of the library.

One by one, their minds gave way for his will, until they all waited, patiently, for his intent.

"Well...", Harry smiled slightly and opened his eyes. "Time to explore."

* * *

"Excuse me, but do you mind if i sit next to you?"

Harry blinked and turned to regard the owner of the silky voice.

Daphne stood behind him, almost apprehensively so, as she gazed at him with an expression that almost dared him to tell her off.

Harry noted for himself with a bit dismay that the volume of conversations lowered upon their interaction in the entire dining hall. Harry didn't even dare look around to see the people's reaction, especially his housemates. He was walking a fine thread as it was in order to be left alone.

He supposed a quiet and uneventful breakfast was too much to ask for.

"Not at all.", Harry nodded towards the seat next to him. None of his housemates sat nearby so he hoped it would not be a problem.

Harry watched her from the corner of his eyes as she sat down gingerly next to him, before serving herself some food.

He was curios to her intentions in associating with him. After the incident in the tower, they had spoken for a little bit, but parted quickly. Since then, they'd granted each other nothing but passing nods, but Harry had noticed her gaze several times over the last couple of days.

Probing her mind with his will revealed little. What he recognized he already knew, and the intentions and emotions he could not make out what was he quickly gave up in trying to decipher.

The girl was quite adapt in masking her emotions, something of which intrigued Harry. Was it something magical, or simply a matter of practice? Despite having a power working directly on the mind, Harry had not heard of any other magics or spells apart from the _Imperio and obliviate_ that worked directly on the mind, especially not in such a matter. He supposed it was something that demanded further inquiry.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Harry threw a quick glance back at the slytherin table. Harry noted Malfoy looking especially sour at Daphne's close proximity. Jealousy perhaps?

"Your housemates don't seem to approve.", Harry murmured, cursing himself for his hoarse voice. He needed to speak more, before his voice disappeared completely or something. "Sure its a good idea to sit here?"

Daphne scoffed.

"They can sit and boil for all i care."

The venom in her words surprised Harry and he quickly decided to leave the topic be. He more than anyone else knew how petty Malfoy could be in his resentments. Harry could easily see him spending much of his time making Daphne's stay in their common rooms miserable. Considering how Pansy Parkinson seemed to hang off his every word, it would not surprise him if the female dorms gave no sanctuary either.

"So, anything i can do for you?", Harry probed, feigning disinterest as he kept eating.

He'd already given some thought in how to help her in the future, as well as sent a letter to probe for some valuable information, but he hadn't expected her to approach him after he let his influence out of her mind.

"I wanted to thank you.", Daphne murmured, her eyes flicking around the room as she ate in an almost paranoid manner. "Properly, when I'm not a mess like last we spoke. I wanted to approach earlier, but i admit i was very embarrassed."

Harry understood that and gave a small nod.

"Its fine."

"It is not. I would appreciate it if nobody were to know of the incident, as I'm big enough of a target as it is."

"Of course.", Harry nodded yet again. He had neither the wish nor anyone to tell it too anyway.

"Good.", Daphne murmured softly, giving him a thankful smile. Harry thought he could see a small blush for a moment, but it was gone before he was sure. "I also wanted to ask you, if you would give me the pleasure of going to the Yule Ball together?"

Harry froze with his mouth open in the middle of a bite, his eyes going wide for a second before embarrassment struck like a hammer.

Damning himself, Harry could feel his face burning as he quickly shut his mouth and put down the forked food he had in hand before he made a fool of himself.

"Oh, i- uh, that is..."

Well, a BIGGER fool of himself.

Daphne giggled, much to his further embarrassment as he glanced over at her. She did not look deterred the slightest, just watching him with a hopeful smile on her face.

"Have you already asked someone?", Daphne inquired politely, looking as cute as she sounded, to which Harry could feel his teenage hormones working overdrive from.

"No. Sorry, you just surprised me.", Harry breathed as he brought himself under control. He had actually completely forgotten about the Yule Ball, and he still did not have a date. "You do know that as one of the champions, i have to be part of opening the dance of the ball, right?"

"Are you insinuating I'm not fit to open the ball with you?", Daphne cocked her brow, her sweet tone disappearing to a more snide manner that Harry instantly disliked.

"What, no!", Harry shook his head vigorously as he turned to the girl. For some reason, the thought that she might believe he insulted her made him feel horrible. "I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were asking for. I would love to go to the ball with you."

"Great!", Daphne suddenly switched back to a completely different, yet sweet manner as she kept eating. Harry quickly decided to do the same, feeling his face burn with familiar embarrassment. "Do you know how to dance?"

"I'm afraid not.", Harry shrugged. "But McGonagall will be having lessons soon, i just hope it will be enough to appear decent."

"Well, my family taught both me and my sister traditional dance already at a young age. If you want we could practice together?"

"Uhm...", Harry looked at her thoughtfully. "Do you mean apart from McGonagall's classes? During free time?"

Upon Daphne's nod, Harry considered it for a moment. He had plans regarding his study in necromancies, but the Yule Ball was closer than the trial. While they were of very different importance, Harry figured he had the opportunity to take some time off.

...And honestly, he wouldn't really mind dancing with Daphne for obvious... more prepubescent reasons.

"Sure.", Harry agreed, turning to smile at Daphne. "Have you taught anyone before?"

"No, but I'm sure you will be a diligent student."

The smile she gave him made Harry quickly avert his eyes.

* * *

Weeks passed like a blur and Harry felt he grew ever more proficient with dancing.

The dancing lessons with Daphne had begun as a genuine interest in learning the dance. After a while when he grew more proficient, it became more of an excuse just to spend time with Daphne.

Harry had forgotten how much he had missed just spending time with someone.

"I think were done for today.", Daphne murmured with a smile as they separated.

Huffing slightly, Harry stretched tiredly. If the dancing lessons had taught him anything over the last couple of days, it was that he was in terrible shape. He'd never been in a good shape to begin with, but he hadn't noticed how his physical form had deteriorated during his intense studies over the last month.

They were currently in an abandoned classroom in their free time, as was most of their lessons together. Dancing lessons with McGonagall had already began, but Harry found himself dreading those, while looking forward to the ones with Daphne.

McGonagall's snide face brought increasingly more and more agitation. Harry had no respect left for the woman, but kept up a polite facade.

Daphne had taken to partnering with him at every opportunity since they shared most of their classes. The look on Snape's face had almost brought Harry to the shame of laughing out loud like a loon the first time she paired up with him in potions.

On another front though, Harry had begun to recognize the foul glances of not only his housemates, but also those aimed towards Daphne. Clearly, most did not like seeing a Gryffindor and Slytherin getting along, and while Daphne did not seem to care for anyone's resentment, Harry began to grow worried someone might try something against one of them.

Harry found himself almost wishing someone would try anything against him. He would relish the opportunity to test out some of his new, non-lethal spells against someone.

But if someone went after Daphne though...

The thought sat wrong with him. She was the only one he had left to spend time with and talk too. While she seemed, on some level, interested in him, Harry wasn't quite sure what he felt for the girl. He enjoyed her company and she was incredibly attractive, but chances were it was all just hormones. She was not worth the risk, considering the dark and very much illegal nature of his studies.

The guilt for the situation he'd unknowingly doomed her too didn't help either, but he figured the less he thought on it, the better. He would make it right again.

"Harry?", Daphne carefully muttered at him with a worried expression. "Something wrong?"

Realizing he'd been lost in his thoughts, Harry shook his head and gave her a small smile.

"Just thinking."

Pursing her lips, Daphne suddenly formed a sly smile as she picked up her stuff at a nearby desk.

"About what?" Lifting her brow, she cocked her hips haughtily and made a pouty face that didn't fit her personality at all. "Is it about me?"

Harry couldn't help but chuckle in amusement. She'd grown more and more happy over the time they'd talked and had also taken to joke a lot more. It was a refreshing change to see and Harry found her growing more and more endearing the more they got to know each other.

"Your humble personality, yes." Taking a moment to look at her curiously, Daphne's jokingly cocky expression turned into an embarrassed frown before Harry realized he'd been staring. "I've just been curious lately, about something, but i have no right to ask."

Tilting her head, Daphne stepped next to him, leaning up against the same desk Harry was resting on, close enough for their arms to touch.

"About what? Might as well just ask, worst I'l say is no."

"Well...", Harry breathed. "...Have your housemates been bothering you?"

Her lips tightened immediately and her shoulders went rigid.

"Why do you ask?"

Her tone made Harry very nearly flinch, but he held her gaze with a soft stare. It was obvious there was something at work.

"Well, i personally know how petty and vicious Malfoy can be. Considering what happened between the two of you, including the fact that you're now spending so much time with me, someone he quite officially detests, i cant see him and his peers giving you an easy time at the dorms."

Daphne sighed after a moment of silence as she suddenly stood and turned slightly away from him.

"...It's nothing i can't handle...", Daphne allowed after a moment.

"If you truly do not want to talk about it then i will respect your wishes, but know that you can talk to me about anything.", Harry muttered with observing eyes. Her presence felt conflicted and Harry was almost tempted to use his powers to entice her to speak, but that was a line he did not intent to cross again just yet.

"I know, i know... It's just...", Daphne whispered shaking her head with a near hysteric smile on her face as she turned to face him. "I had actually been expecting to hear from my family regarding my time with you, you know? Guess they don't even care about anything regarding myself any longer..."

Noticing the minefield for what it was, Harry quickly disregarded the topic, yet inwardly having to squash the doubt that she befriended him only to gain the attention of her family. It was a silly idea, as he'd kept a good enough of a read on her emotions for that to be unlikely.

"And your housemates?"

A foul look spread out on her face before getting stricken with both disgust and hopelessness.

"...Some are worse than others...", Daphne finally gave, turning away yet again, though this time towards the door. The topic was obviously more uncomfortable for her than Harry had anticipated. "Anyway, we're finished for today."

As she took a hasty and sudden step towards the exit, Harry surprised himself with his own speed as he bolted towards his friend and grabbing her hand in order to keep her in place. Silence seemed like the loudest sound in the entire room as Harry held her fast, as she strained to get away.

"...If you ever need help, Daphne...", Harry's voice came out like the rattle of death itself. Silence grew in the room before Daphne cast a cold glance at him from over her shoulder.

"I can handle myself."

Pulling her hand to herself with anger, Harry quickly released her as Daphne quickly left the classroom. Silence was left in her wake, louder than it had ever been before and Harry had to tell himself to breathe again.

Anger, fear and shame. Those had been the strongest emotions that had flared within Daphne upon his question. Someone had tried to do something to Daphne, or at the very least threatened her. Ultimately, it could be argued it was because of him.

A cold feeling struck his gut as his fantasy got the best of him, and he sneered at himself in disgust. It wouldn't do for him to create answers before having heard them from Daphne's own mouth. His habit of thinking the worst of situations seemed to be both a boon and a curse.

Sitting down Harry drew a long breath that seemed to reverberate with the air of the empty classroom.

Why not go to Snape or any of the other faculty if the hazing and bullying got even worse? There had to be an explanation for Daphne's choice in leaving the faculty out of it, but what? He understood very little of the mechanics of the slytherin house, even less of the pureblooded houses and its noble family politics.

Thinking about how and who were probably torturing and doing things they shouldn't against Daphne brought a surge of disgust in Harry's mood and he drew another rattling breath in response to attempt and calm himself.

For the first time in his life...

For the very first time in his life, Harry truthfully wanted to do something very, very drastic to someone. IF those responsible for doing to her what he thought they might have done, then they deserved so, so much worse...!

And then...

...The thought struck Harry.

A small, sinister smile slowly spread at Harry's lips as he lifted his head from his hands.

...Something drastic.

Doing something very drastic, something completely unwise and unlike him, was exactly, what he might actually have to do.

* * *

A day later, Theodore Nott sat quietly by himself in the dining hall, observing casually with one eye as he ate, at his object of affection. Nott came from a pureblooded family and had long fancied the ever popular Daphne Greengrass. Many considered her the prettiest girl their year, but that was an arguable point.

She was clever, tactful and ever respectful.

Nott's parents, former Death Eaters, had for a few years pushed him towards getting to know either of the Greengrass heiresess. They had no sons to inherit, so they were doomed to marry off at least one. Theodore, as he shared classes with Daphne, had convinced his parents he'd attempt to win her affection, but had been met with no success.

And now, the heiress had gone and made herself unsuitable with her rash behavior against the Malfoy heir. If someone could hold a grudge, it was the Malfoy family and Lucius Malfoy most of all.

Now, no family would dare cross Lucius and his family, and Daphne's family punished her with the only suitable suitor the Malfoy family would allow without reprisal, one who could have shared the age of her own grandfather.

Nott clenched his hand at the table as he glanced down towards Daphne.

It wasn't fair. He had wanted her for much longer than what Malfoy had, and now the spoiled brat had ruined it because one, ONE girl couldn't stand his mouth.

It wasn't right.

Daphne somberly stood, giving a short glance towards the gryffindor table with a disappointed expression on her face before walking towards the exit.

A dark smile filled Nott's face as he watched Daphne's figure.

He had tried before, to talk with her and get close when Daphne seemed weak and vulnerable, but again had been met with nothing but contempt.

He had enough of it.

He wanted her so badly, and even if she would never be his for future come, he would still, at the very least feel her touch upon his own just once.

Standing up, Nott swiftly followed after Daphne out into the corridors, resting a hand over his wand.

He had a rudimentary understanding of the memory charm. She wouldn't have to remember anything at all.

* * *

Deep in the chambers of secrets, Harry leaned back in his chair with a smirk as he gazed at the mauraders map, currently overlayed by the dining hall and its exterior corridors.

The cold burn of rage flared tightly in his chest upon sensing the foul intent, yet almost gleefully, Harry closed his eyes and stood up.

Reaching out with his power, Harry put one of his hands on his back, the other circling its wrist in a slow, almost undulating manner.

He didn't even realize his mannerism as he concentrated, nor how easy it actually felt to exert his will.

* * *

Eyes locked at Daphne's back, they just arrived at an intersection that could either take them to a more abandoned part of the castle, or towards the slytherin dungeons.

 _'...Theodore...'_

Nott froze.

The corridor was silent. Daphne quickly disappeared down towards the dorms, yet Nott stood frozen a good distance away.

For a split second, Nott had thought she had spotted him and called his name, but the voice didn't sound like her at all...

...When he thought about it, had he even heard a voice at all? Or was it just a feeling he suddenly got?

Frowning, Nott felt his paranoia flare. Had Daphne discovered him and cast a spell on him? If that was the case...

No, impossible. He had watched her closely, she had done nothing at all as they had walked.

Shaking his head, he realized his window of opportunity to cast the _'Imperio'_ on Daphne had passed him by.

Cursing under his breath, Nott resumed his steps towards the dorms, only for a thought, quite forwardly to interrupt his walk.

He had not even checked out the area he'd take her to, whenever the next opportunity presented itself.

Grumbling, he gave a longing glance towards the dorms before turning towards the abandoned part of the school. He supposed he should go take a look at the very least, in order to have something to consider.

Silence stretched on as he walked down the empty and somewhat dark corridors of the abandoned halls. Nott frowned at his own behavior, but he supposed anyone would be more nervous than usual when attempting to do something like he was planning. He couldn't be too careful after all.

Eventually, he came upon a door, its design very equal to the other restrooms of the castle.

He then remembered, if the rumors were true, that a girl had died here many years ago, and supposedly a ghost now resided here.

Shaking his head, he pushed his curios thoughts away. He'd had enough of this. He honestly had no idea what was going on with him, nor why he had the thoughts he had, but he was getting way too tired to be walking around in such a creepy area.

Just as he turned around, he heard the creak of the door open.

"...Imperio..."

* * *

Rounding a corner, Daphne quickly pushed her back up against the wall and flicked out her wand, tears of frustration welling in her eyes. She'd known Nott's eyes to be on her as he followed her out the dining hall.

He had not been the first to try and follow her and lay hands on her, but she was sick of it!

Everyday, every second of every minute she was around them she could feel their stares and foul thoughts and she hated every moment of it.

One boy had already come close to getting his wishes, but Daphne had been faster. Young Fülmer would have doubts the next time he decided to lay hands on her.

Now, she waited for Nott as he would come down the stairs and round the corner, where Daphne would charm and curse him for his intended crime. Nott was a creep, obvious and forward in his intentions despite having been told no several times.

But now, she had no family name to protect her any longer.

And so, Daphne waited to strike preemptively against the Nott heir.

...And waited.

And when she had to wait even longer, Daphne frowned, her frustration giving way for curiosity as she slowly peeked around the corner.

And up the stairs, were no sign of the Nott heir.


	8. Chapter 8 Masquerade Without Masks

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 8 Masquerade Without Masks**

Days passed as the Yule ball came ever closer.

...And Harry's studies within necromancy had been given a big opportunity for advancing his understandings of its magics.

Harry had been reluctant to take the dive before, into the more controversial sides of its mysteries, but that was when he was still naive as he was.

But no longer.

Under the imperio, Nott had admitted his intentions. He would suffer for it. Harry would make sure of it. Harry now realized, than some people didn't deserve second chances. Some people really just deserved to die.

After the incident of their last dance session, Harry had been understandingly busy with his work, but when he eventually emerged, he'd been surprised to see Daphne keeping her distance.

Knowing her, he supposed it could be because she was either embarrassed or simply hesitant...

...But watching her in the dining hall, Harry noticed a peculiar behavior among the slytherins.

Over the last weeks, Harry had noticed many of her housemates hovering near her, leering at her and making snide comments.

Now, they all stayed far away and with a certain amount of wariness around her. They didn't make snide comments nor hover around her, and she seemed to carry herself stronger for it, a calm and docile expression on her face, instead of the somber one Harry had grown used to see at a distance.

One day Harry had seen Snape and Dumbledore talking animatedly to each other, before all the houses were promptly informed of stricter evening quarantines. With his mauraders map and cloak of invisibility, it didn't affect Harry any.

From his bedside window at the same evening, he could see lantern lights from the forbidden forest and Harry couldn't help but smile to himself. They thought the heir had gone missing in the forest, as they obviously hadn't found him in the castle.

Harry wasn't worried though. They could search all they wanted, and while the Nott heir was still alive, he wouldn't be for much longer.

Eventually the time for paired work came in class, and when Harry almost expected Daphne to go pair up with someone else, she had simply sat down next to him with a big smile, given him a hug before beginning with their work.

Curios by her behavior, he had probed her mind discreetly as they had begun their class assignment. He felt... elation, yet curiosity coming from her. He supposed it was a valid response from her as her house now seemed to leave her alone, forgetting her in the middle of the crisis of the missing student.

But Harry had to stay vigilant. Where there was one, there would always be more. Daphne had suffered enough at his hand, unintentional as it was, and he would make sure he'd pay what he owed her.

At the end of class, she had surprised him further by giving him a kiss to his cheek before swiftly leaving. Harry was left in her wake with almost glowing embarrassment. The attention the action pulled from the class made him a bit irritated as it was sure to stir up rumors, but for some reason he found himself unable to hold it against her.

Eventually the day of the Yule ball arrived and it seemed as if the school washed their hands off the search for the heir. No doubt the ministry had taken over the search and the family been informed, yet none of it worried Harry.

All of that aside though, he had a ball to attend and a date to impress. Maybe it was a silly stereotypical pride, but he still wanted to impress his date who was also his friend... who he also had confusing emotions for...

...Whatever, the more he thought about her, the more confused he became.

He currently found himself in the gryffindor dorms, looking at himself in the mirror.

He wore black, traditional wizard robes. Honestly, it looked more like something the Malfoy family would wear, but it just didn't feel right going with the colors of a house he no longer felt a part of. The robe was tight enough in the right places to show his form, but loose enough to make him look bigger than he was. The money he'd allowed on its order was well spent, but he hoped Daphne would approve.

The Weasley's, or rather Molly, had sent him a robe as well, but he had sent it back with a gentle apology and an explanation as to why he had to refuse their offer. He hoped she would accept his stance on the matter, as while it was true that he and Ron did not see eye to eye any longer, he had nothing against the family. He would treasure the memories he had gathered with them over the years, but times change.

"Looking good Harry.", Seamus gave him a thumbs up from across the room with a grin, which Harry responded to with a small nod and a smile back.

"You too Finnigan."

Superficial little cunt.

Pushing the annoyance aside, Harry sighed and gazed over himself one last time in the mirror. For once he'd managed to get control of his hair and managed a slightly less ruffled appearance.

"...Showtime i guess...", Harry whispered to himself with a frown. He really didn't look forward to this. The spotlight was the last place he wanted to be in.

Leaving the near empty dorms as the time to open the ball was near, Harry soon found himself at the bottom of the stairs in front of the ballroom as people streamed in. Fleur and Cedric was already there with their partners while Victor was in the same boat as Harry as they waited for their partners.

Cedric, and his partner whom Harry recognized as a girl named Cho from some of his classes, smiled at him and greeted him kindly which Harry responded in kind. Harry had seen Cho once at the train to the castle as summer ended. He had found her cute and Cho had giggled at him once, much to his embarrassment, but that seemed like an entire lifetime ago.

Harry didn't recognize Fleur's partner, but considering the dazed and dumb look in his eyes as he stared at her, Harry supposed he wasn't worth mentioning. Rumors went around the school Fleur was a Veela, same as the beautiful creatures during the Finale Harry had seen with the Weasleys during the summer.

Harry thought he could remember her saying her wand was built with a Veela hair from her grandmother during the weighing of the wands, but he hadn't listened. He honestly didn't care much.

Hermoine came eventually and despite his differences, Harry had to admit she cleaned up nicely. The distance they had over the last months helped Harry shed the 'girl' view he had of his former friend, as she looked, very much, in her new dress, like a lovely young woman.

Victor greeted her as she came down the stairs, as she was obviously his date, but still gave Harry a short glance and smile.

Harry responded in kind. It was only polite.

Eventually McGonagall came and closed the doors, informing them they would enter in a few minutes. He began to grow nervous if Daphne would show at all, but eventually her footsteps came from the opposite direction.

Harry found her completely stunning the moment she rounded the corner. Her dress fit snug from her wait and up, but below it spread out in a traditional gown. Her dress was a dark green color, simple in its design, yet the color seemed to almost radiate of her. Instead of showing off her upper chest like so many other dresses that Harry had seen tonight, Daphne's went all the way up her throat, almost like a turtleneck, yet the material above her chest seemed so thin and fine it almost looked like it was her own skin. Her arms were covered by the dress as well, her forearms covered by long, dark green gloves that was anchored to her middle finger, while allowing the rest of her hands to be free.

Her hair fell in loose cascades down her shoulder like she usually kept it, but it seemed better groomed and brighter than what it usually was. Harry supposed since it was a rare occasion that she had allowed herself something extra today.

Furthermore, she wore a darker make-up that what she usually wore. She seemed more fair in her skin, but that might have had something to do with the contrast of her dark red lips.

Meeting her eyes, Harry noticed the dress complimenting the color of her eyes very nicely, her eyes framed and brought out nicely by her long and black eyelashes.

Harry smiled at her as she walked up to him.

"Hello Daph."

She smiled at him as she came to a stop in front of him. Giving a glance to make sure the others present weren't looking, she curtsied clumsily on purpose with a silly expression.

Her act made Harry restrain himself mid-snort with a chuckle before giving her his arm as they walked up in position by the door.

It felt good to see they still had the dynamic between them, but Harry still questioned her distance over the last couple of days.

"You look lovely.", Harry murmured softly as they waited by the door, last in line of the 4 couples.

"Thank you.", Daphne answered as she leaned on him. "It amusing to dress up like this from time and again, but I'm glad its not often."

"Guessing it took awhile?"

"Since morning.", Daphne sighed wearily, but with a certain amount of satisfaction. "Even skipped breakfast to make sure i managed to get everything done on time. You'd think there were easier and faster ways to do things like this, considering we live in a magical society, but nooo.", Daphne dragged out her last word in irritation and Harry couldn't help himself but grin down at her.

"Well, I'm not arguing with the result."

Fixing him with a smirk so sardonic Harry instantly regretted his words, Daphne bumped her hip into his own.

"Charmer."

"Hardly.", Harry smirked at her. "But considering your ego, chances are you will run off if i don't cater to you a little bit."

Daphne pinched his arm in punishment, but it didn't really hurt.

Before she could respond, McGonagall suddenly came out the door announcing it was time. All the couples went over themselves one last time before standing ready for McGonagall to give them the go ahead.

"You ready for this?", Harry asked with a deep breath, but he wondered if it was asked more to assure himself.

"Are you?", Daphne responded back with a smirk, letting him know he'd been transparent in his question. This was probably not her first ball considering her family.

Harry could feel his pulse quicken, but he hoped his instincts and training would take over when they finally started dancing.

Finally, the door opened and with triumphant music, they entered the ballroom.

The dining hall were filled to the brim with students and teachers, all dressed up for the occasion, with a large clearing in the middle for those that should dance. On the elevation where the teachers usually sat now stood a band with all their instruments and accessories, playing the music that had been chosen. A lone path through the throngs of people was cleared in the middle for the champions and their partners to reach the circle where they would dance, and thus begin the ball.

As they walked towards the circle, Harry took a moment to look around as they moved. At the sides stood tables and tables with both food and drink with people and teachers looking at them, waiting for the ball to begin as they applauded.

The theme of the interior was obviously themed for Christmas, decoration either made to, or charmed to look like ice.

Before he could observe further however, they arrived at the floor and he swiftly resumed his attention at Daphne as they took their place among the couples. Laying his hand on her waist, the other in her hand, they smiled at each other reassuringly as the music died down, a prelude for the song they would open the dance with.

As the music set in, Daphne and Harry both took a breath, and as one, the couples began the dance. Swirling and spinning, seconds ticked by as Harry did his best to keep his focus on his partner and not on the onlookers.

It was easier than he thought and guessed the training with Daphne had really paid off after all.

"Harry.", Daphne suddenly muttered. Meeting her eyes, Harry noticed with a bit trepidation the intense stare she held onto him. "I want to ask you something. Hypothetically."

Harry frowned. What in the world did that mean?

A couple of teachers suddenly joined the dance, which seemed to set of a chain reaction among the students as people began clamoring to join the dance.

Despite her odd choice of words, Harry decided to humor her.

"What is it then, that you hypothetically want to ask me?"

Daphne smiled at him, but her stare did not lose any of its intensity.

"If i were to, hypothetically of course, ask you, would you tell me if you knew what happened with Theodore Nott?"

Harry nearly froze, but managed to just stutter once in his step. He made sure to not show anything outwardly on his face, but his mind was working a mile a minute.

She suspected him to have something with Nott's disappearance. She didn't know, she couldn't, but she did at the very least have a suspicion.

How though? She hadn't seen anything, Harry had made sure nobody was close.

Idly reminding himself where he kept his wand in his robe, he started thinking of ways to subdue her without anyone noticing while outwardly keeping a cool facade.

"Why in the world would i know that?", Harry scoffed as they danced onward.

"Its just a hypothetical question.", Daphne smiled as her eyes seemed to flare with intensity.

Carefully probing her mind revealed nothing and he dared not push his will on her, not in this situation. It fueled his suspicion that she knew some way to shield her mind for outward influence, but Harry could only speculate the ramifications of it.

"Well, hypothetically, if i didn't know anything about it, then i couldn't have said anything."

"That's not what i asked.", Daphne grinned and her smile seemed to grow almost sinisterly smug. "I asked IF you hypothetically knew something, and only IF, would you tell me something." Daphne's eyes drifted away from his own as if in thought. "Terrible date you are. My first question you avoided, the next you do not answer correctly."

A sinking emotion dropped in Harry's gut. He had obviously revealed more than he had intended to her, much, much more. He had underestimated her and she was obviously quite adept when it came to playing with words.

"Well, they were only hypothetical questions.", Harry drawled coldly, his gaze fastened on Daphne.

"That is true.", Daphne drawled just as slowly as she smiled disarmingly at Harry despite his frosty glare. "So? Are you going to finally answer my hypothetical question right?"

Still with the games. Harry had to learn this sooner rather than later, should he ever encounter someone as sly as Daphne.

"If, i hypothetically knew something about it...", Harry dragged out, carefully estimating the hearing distance to those around them as they danced. "...Then i would tell you about it somewhere private or not at all."

At his response, Daphne giggled and Harry could feel her emotions suddenly spiking with joy, whatever block had been on them now gone. Whatever she suspected, it seemed she had taken his words as confirmation.

He had more or less given her the answer she already knew, it seemed like at the very least.

Curios by her giggling response and genuinely felt emotions, Harry couldn't help but lose some of his frosty glare. If someone else had suspected him of... kidnapping or murdering someone, he didn't exactly expect her kind of reaction to it.

"Already trying to get me alone Harry? The dance isn't even finished yet!", Daphne giggled and pressed herself closer to him as they danced, further confusing him, but he kept his emotions behind steel bars. He was in a dangerous area right now.

"Well, it was only hypothetical, right?", Harry smiled thinly.

Upon his words the song died down and people stopped dancing.

Instead of separating, Harry and Daphne stood locked in the same embrace, as if waiting to continue dancing as they looked at each other.

Her face suddenly grew somber, an emotion of something Harry couldn't make out what was settling over her presence.

"Harry. Just for tonight...During this ball.", Daphne looked at him with an unsure expression. She seemed strangely vulnerable despite their conversation seconds past. "Can we... Can we just pretend to be normal teenagers? Not the boy-who-lived, nor the 'Greengrass Heir', but just... Us?"

Still not sure if he should buy her act or not, Harry gave her a critical stare.

"Why...?", he eventually whispered.

"Please.", Daphne pressed with a growing pleading expression. "Just for tonight."

The band on stage began playing something new, not something as extravagant as the opening song, but still something with a bit swing to it.

Thinking over her words and considering his options, Harry noticed people beginning to dance again. They would be expected to either dance as well or leave the floor, and Harry wanted to keep a close eye on her for the moment.

Relenting to her words, he took a short breath before giving her the brightest smile he could before leading her into the next dance.

It only took one song for Harry to get back into it, doing his best to keep his newfound worries at the back of his mind. Daphne for her part seemed to let herself go in a manner he had never seen before.

While she danced she laughed and flirted with him in ways that left him feeling more hot and bothered than he ever hoped he would ever feel again. He didn't need to probe her mind to truly see how genuinely happy she was as she danced the time away with him.

Eventually they were both growing a bit too hot in their clothes and had to take a break.

They ate and drank, laughing discreetly at others that danced, or whenever Hagrid stepped on Madame Maxime's toes. Seeing Dumbledore and Minerva dancing together was enough for both of the teens to fall into another bout of uncontrolled giggles.

They ignored the stares and glares from others and threw their attention at each other instead.

Despite what thoughts lied in the back of Harry's mind, he couldn't remember last he'd let himself go in such a manner and just had fun with someone as much as he was having.

Eventually, a slow and fairly romantic song began playing from the band and the dancing slowed to a slow and undulating wave of movements.

Both Daphne and Harry was still breathing a bit heavy from their last dance, yet they were still grinning as they danced slowly to the music, his hands on her hips with her own on his chest.

As the song ticked on, conversation seemed to fail the both of them. Comfortably just smiling at each other while swaying to the music, they both truly did forget the worries that awaited them in the future.

All around them couples were dancing intimately, some kissing while swaying softly to the music. Despite his attraction however, Harry didn't feel like pushing their current relationship from whatever it was.

Eventually the song ended and the ball came quickly to a close.

Walking outside to get some fresh air, Harry and Daphne quickly found themselves alone. The air was cold and stingy, which was most likely the reason the outside area around Hogwarts was currently vacant.

As they left the doors, Daphne stepped away from Harry and stretched contently as she stepped into the snow.

Feeling comfortable where he was, Harry watched her warily as she frolicked for a moment, kicking the snow playfully and messing up the edges of the lower end of her gown. Harry kept a hand close to his wand, should the need arise.

"I've had a good time today Harry.", Daphne murmured, turning to him with a smile. "It felt good to unwind like this. Feels like ages ago since I've let myself relax."

"I know the feeling.", Harry shrugged.

Watching him as if expecting him to say more, Daphne sighed and walked back to Harry, standing calmly in front of the much tenser and wary teenager.

"In any case, thank you Harry." With a sad smile, Daphne stood tiptoed to give him a soft kiss on his lips. Her lips felt cold, yet it left a tingling sensation on his lips. It was almost as if it went down his body all the way to his toes, but the bitter truth of their situation culled any excitement he otherwise would have felt. "Thank you for letting me feel like any other young girl, if only just for tonight. I wonder if...", Daphne suddenly smiled and shook her head.

Seeing her unspoken words for what it was, Harry nodded at her. He too would have liked it for them to have just been two normal teenagers in love and seen where it could have led them. However, as long as she was forcefully promised to someone else it would be unfair to her to give her any sort of expectation when it could not last as it would.

Furthermore, if there was one thing Harry had learned after his name popped out of the Goblet and after the last successive years in Hogwarts, someone was truly after his life. Such a future would be both unwise and unfair to push upon someone.

He cared about Daphne, more than he wanted to admit, but he did not love her in any sense of the word. He didn't even know what the weight of it meant or even felt like, but he did know that he did not want to push such a fate upon her, even IF she was not engaged to someone else.

Standing there in silence, Daphne finally sighed and cleared her voice.

"I do not know what it is that you did with...", Daphne trailed off, gesturing dismissively into the air. "...You know." Understanding that she was probably talking about the disappeared Theodore Nott, Harry just stared at her calmly, idly evaluating the need versus the risk of obliviating her memories.

"...How...?", Harry whispered coldly, ignoring how Daphne shivered and held her shoulders for some semblance of warmth. It truly was a cold night.

"Because i knew i was being followed by him when he disappeared.", Daphne whispered, glancing around herself warily. "You have been the only one to care about how people are treating me, so you were the only one to really make any sense would do something about it. That, and the fact that you disappeared during the entire weekend he was gone as well made me speculate." Daphne suddenly chuckled and shook her head at him with a fond smile. "That, and considering how much of a bad liar you are, made it somewhat easy coming to a conclusion."

Scoffing, Harry thought back to her so called 'hypothetical questions' while they were dancing.

"Well, most would call that a good thing you know. In any case, everything of what you just named are just circumstantial speculation."

"I know.", Daphne grinned, before silence fell between them yet again. "Look.", Daphne suddenly sighed somberly. "I'm thankful to you for doing whatever it was that you did. I do not know what you did to him and i do not need to know. I don't care, I'm just glad hes gone." The admission made Harry lift a brow at her. It was not quite the reaction he had suspected, but all things considered it didn't really surprise him.

In any case, Harry refused to answer her words, in case someone was listening. She had no proof of anything at all and didn't seem to care either way, apart from being grateful. Ideally, he could charm her memories, but the risk was greater than just leaving her as she was.

"So, what happens now then?", Harry muttered, lifting a brow at her.

"I'm cold.", Daphne giggled and Harry couldn't help himself from chuckling as the tense situation dissolved itself. "And tired. The ball is about to end anyway, so unless you wish to 'assure' yourself further that I'm not going to cause you problems, then I'm going to go to bed.", Daphne laid a hand on his shoulder before leaning up to give him another kiss, this one on the side of his mouth. "In any case, thank you for today Harry."

Walking slowly inside the castle again, Harry noted how she left herself completely exposed with her back towards him, IF he should so choose to use his magic.

However, he'd already made his choice.

"...I will never hurt you Daphne.", Harry muttered sympathetically after his friend, before turning to gaze up at the night sky.

He could hear her stopping for a moment, before she continued her walk inside. Had she been anyone else, Harry would have obliviated their memories.

Unfortunately, he owed her too much.

Staying outside alone with his thoughts, Harry eventually sighed in resignation before entering the castle as well.

It had all been so simple before.


	9. Chapter 9 To Become Better

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 9 To Become Better**

 _'...and with a medium, such as human composition, either blood, bone or flesh, it is possible to enhance a user's body. While the rituals designed to do this have been performed quite differently among practitioners, i have compiled all my discoveries upon these kinds of rituals and their documented effects. Theoretically, it is possible for someone who still walks among the living to perform them, but do keep in mind that a strong 'binder' like 'Gorehowler' or 'Vampire' blood is much more essential for those without the undead affliction. See page 814 for more guidance upon this.'_

Harry flicked to the correlated page of Ludvig's work, but his eyes merely scimmed the surface. He'd already read all of this several times asking himself an innocent little question that could have potentially disastrous consequences.

Should he?

Ludvig had rituals. Rituals that could better his eyesight, make his magic stronger, his physical body faster.

And yet... Should he?

These were rituals he'd earlier disregarded for being too dark. And it was dark. It was probably the darkest and most macabre piece of magic Harry ever reckoned he'd ever encounter.

But... Should he?

The temptation was immense. He could become a better version of himself. Stronger and more powerful than ever before.

And now...

"...Mmf...Mgh...!", someone tiredly moaned above Harry through bindings across the mouth.

Smirking, Harry looked up upon the pitiful sight of Theodore Nott, hanging from the ceiling of his personal study, gagged and bound by Acromantula silk. Harry had his pet Elize bring him up, webbing the would be assailant into a cocoon above him.

...Now he actually had the ingredients to perform these rituals.

The idea both repulsed and excited him. Had he really fallen so far as to debase a human being into nothing but ingredients for his own ends?

Harry already knew the answer and he had already made his choice, no matter how much he continued to ponder. Every time he remembered what Nott had intended to do, whatever sympathy he had felt building was drowned out by the expectation of what was to come.

As he'd already concluded, some people really deserved to die. Nott would do more good in death than he ever would in life. Harry hoped it would be enough to help him through the tournament.

Ignoring Nott's moaning, which eerily had begun to sound sweeter and sweeter to his ears, Harry delved into the book yet again, re-reading the passage of interest.

Nott would soon expire, and the quality of the ingredients with him soon after. Yet these rituals was nothing to be taken lightly. It could by the slightest mistake kill him.

He wished he had a teacher to confer with, but he had none. While Nott had been a welcomed subject of experimentation, people were a difficult and risky resource to obtain. Nott proved better than the rats, but his time was running out. Harry would have to make do.

Hearing Nott moan loudly, sobbing through his bindings, Harry felt a flare of anger.

"Silence... Or i will feed you to my pet."

Upon his rattling words, Nott quieted down, the sound of his tears hitting the stone floor broken up by the occasional sound of pages being flipped being the only thing that was left in the dark chamber.

* * *

"I have something to teach you."

Harry blinked and looked over his shoulder. It was early Saturday morning and he'd resigned himself to a slow day of study and preparation, yet it seemed Daphne had other things in mind as she plopped down in the seat next to him.

"Beg your pardon?"

"A rare branch of magic.", Daphne continued, ignoring Harry's reaction as she began to eat. The foul stares of their housemates went largely ignored, but Harry kept his will ever vigilant in case he sensed someone with foul intentions. "Difficult to find books upon it, yet some old families like mine do practice it."

Regarding her with a critical eye, Harry glanced around them discreetly. Nobody was close.

"Do tell. What is it?"

"The art of 'Occlumency'.", Daphne murmured and leaned into him. Frowning at her forward behavior, Harry put the dots together as he felt her passing a book into his lap under the table, playing it off as intimacy for any curios onlookers. "Otherwise known as the art of shielding your mind against anyone prying."

Harry nearly got the food he was about to swallow stuck, but still managed to put the book away in his bag.

His assumptions had been proven correct it seemed like. Daphne did have some capacity in shielding her mind against outward influence. The question then remained, how his power had effect over her.

How had he managed to influence her to begin with if she knew such a branch of magic? Did his 'will' circumvent the defenses of occlumency, or in any way partially? He wished he could have asked her to experiment on her, but that was a step in their relationship Harry had no wishes to thread anywhere close to.

"...Thank you...", Harry murmured softly, receiving a soft smile back for his effort. "But why?"

"I want you to stay safe.", Daphne whispered, bumping her shoulder into his. "You know, all things considered."

"Is that a hypothetical statement?", Harry smirked, enjoying the lighthearted giggle it provoked from Daphne.

"Harry.", she admonished, but fell short due to her wide smile. Growing thoughtful, Daphne gazed towards the teachers tables. "Snape is Malfoy's godfather, and i remember Malfoy bragging about having learned occlumency from him last year. Something about Snape knowing legilimency-"

"Legilimency?", Harry shot in, throwing a wary glance towards the professors tables. None were present.

"Legilimency, the art of forcefully reading someone else's mind, or rather seeing their memories with all the emotions and intentions tethered to it." Upon seeing Harry's shocked look, Daphne nodded somberly. "...Now you see why i want you to learn this?"

And he did. He really, really did. If Snape read his mind, and Merlin knew he would if he got the excuse for it considering how much he hated Harry, he had no doubts he'd be facing the dementors kiss for the things he intended to do with Nott.

Harry suddenly realized how vulnerable and sloppy he'd grown. He'd grown so comfortable and so sure with his power. It was only luck that sat with him now that Snape hadn't scimmed his mind yet and found such horrible secrets.

"...I...I See..."

"I would bank my money on more than Snape knowing it as well. Certain members of the Aurors know and i wouldn't be surprised if Dumbledore knew as well. While the knowledge of how to perform it is heavily restricted and illegal to seek without proper authorization, it is still a branch of magic that are sometimes abused by those who know it." Daphne looked at him meaningfully. "The book i gave you has instructions on how to defend against such attacks, but also more innocently useful instructions upon how to organize your mind. I do not need the book anymore, nor do i care to give it back to my family. Consider it a late Christmas present."

Unable to form words, Harry swallowed hard and looked at her thankfully. Daphne seemed to understand, smiling as she gave him a nod before they both continued their meal in silence, but Harry decided then and there to put a halt on his dubious use of his will upon his peers, at least until he'd read up on the subject of occlumency and considered the risks.

Daphne's reaction to what he had done, even if she did not know what he was actually planning to do, was nothing but luck. That she was grateful enough to bestow such a gift to him just because she wanted to keep him safe spoke widely of her affection for him, but he had to stay cautious.

Harry had grown content. It was time to wake up to reality and begin his work for real.

* * *

A couple of days passed and Harry stood in front of Nott whom was facing himself with glassy eyes. His tired state had offered no resistance against his ' _imperious'_ when Harry had willed Elize to take him down.

The imperious spell. An unforgivable spell, promising him a lifetime in Azkaban should it ever be discovered, but he trusted the wards of Hogwarts to shield him from the trace upon his wand. The spell had been deceptively easy for him to manage, something which Harry concluded was most likely due to his proficiency with the Necromantic 'domination' aura. The imperious worked much more directly and more forcefully, but Harry knew it lacked dependency.

The first time he'd cast it had been on mice and he had honestly not cared at the time. When he cast it on Nott, his first human victim with the spell, Harry had felt very little but disgust and anger at the pathetic boy whom planned such horrible things against his friend. The disgust for himself came shortly after, but upon forcing the truth about his action from Nott's lips with said spell, made Harry realize how much good the spell could actually do. No lies nor filters would stop him from getting the truth if he so desired, where his aura could currently do little more than discreetly influence the minds of people.

And it was so easy for him to cast. He'd cast it wandlessly against Nott and it worked perfectly.

Looking around the room, Harry made a quick repeat count of all the necessary ingredients for the ritual he intended to do.

He would take Nott's vitality for his own, draining the filth of his life in the process. He would take his eye sight, his mind, his very life essence for his own. While it was a ritual that could be done as many times as one would like, the effects would seriously diminish after each time, yet they would be permanent. He would be stronger, faster, his eyes would see better, his mind would think faster and his magic would be stronger.

He would be a better Harry. Or at the very least, that was what Ludvig had written. The alternative if he did it wrong was a horrible conclusion to his tale that Harry did not wish to dwell on.

Apparently, long ago from what Harry had gathered in the pages of Ludvig's work, Necromancers were rare, but they did exist in numbers around the world. They usually stuck far from each other, yet closely aligned with undead societies such as vampires and something called ' _Wights_ ', which Harry had not yet read up on, and several others. Harry could remember from one of the History classes that the vampires still had a few enclaves left around the world, but he'd never heard anything about the others. They were most likely exterminated long, long ago.

It was also quite common for Necromancers to refuse to go down the path of undeath, or lichhood as well. Ludvig had listed several reasons, but as Harry had no intentions yet of becoming a lich, he'd just scimmed it. It made sense for Harry though, as much of the discoveries within Necromancy were adjusted for both undead and the living. Certain doors and paths would open and others would close, should one decide to become a lich, which obviously didn't appeal to everyone.

The ritual he was now planning was the ritual of ' _Draining_ ', or that was at the very least what Harry thought was written upon the weathered page. It was a popular ritual among necromancers who stayed away from becoming undead themselves, since the nature of Necromancy is one of death and will slowly kill its user over time, draining them of their vitality, something of which a lich was immune against. The ritual was a way for many to extend their lives and they didn't even need live victims. The risks were low as many necromancers would desecrate graveyards and the recently deceased for their ingredients.

But now came the hard part. The leylines, or rather the runes, he'd have to draw upon the ground which would force the correct chain reaction for the ritual needed Nott's properties.

His blood, his bonemeal...

...His flesh.

The thought made Harry physically ill. It was sick, and he knew it was. Yet he also knew that Nott had to die and Harry needed an edge. Anything to be able to survive past the circus he'd been forced into.

Resentment filled Harry upon the thought. It was the schools fault. Year after year and time after time his life had been put in danger.

He needed this. As much as he hated it.

Breathing deeply and ignoring the intense nausea that welled up inside him, Harry ordered Nott to undress and lie down on the stone floor. Ludvig had written a spell which would aid in gathering up all of the blood inside the vials he'd prepared, so Harry was not to worried about being messy.

Seeing the naked, still and malnourished body of Nott lying before him, gazing blankly into the ceiling filled him with trepidation.

Harry picked up the knife. He needed to drain Nott of his blood first before he could properly dismember him.

Standing over Nott, Harry felt weird. He felt nervous, queasy, scared... He honestly didn't know how he felt.

Seeing his hand shaking furiously as it was holding the knife, Harry frowned.

He was scared out of his mind. Playing around with people's head was one thing, but this?

He was actually going to murder someone. And then dismember him.

What in the world was he thinking!?

"No...", Harry whispered, using his free hand to clasp unto his wrist, a vain attempt to still his hand. "This HAS to happen.", Harry muttered sternly to himself as he shook his head. He wondered if he was fooling himself.

Mustering up all the anger he could Harry leaned down and grasped unto Nott's wrist.

His doubts flared up, but before it could grow, Harry bit his teeth together and laid the blade upon Nott's wrist.

...And then slashed it harshly.

Blood spewed out of the arm like a hose, splattering upon Harry and surprising him.

Screaming in shock and disgust, Harry jumped and fell on his back, the knife getting sent into the far end of the room as he crawled away from Nott.

His hearth pumped in his ears and Harry could feel his tunnel vision setting in.

He saw nothing but Theodore in that moment. Lying naked at the cold stone floor, blood pumping out his wrist in intervals that was suspiciously like the intervals between heartbeats.

The blood pooled out and around his body, the boy lying there with a glassy expression on his face.

Seconds dragged on as the body grew paler...

...And paler.

Frozen in Shock, Harry lied there on the ground, eyes on the body as it gradually slackened more and more, the blood pumping out in less amount and slower intervals.

Why couldn't he just die already? Harry wanted it to just be over.

Seconds dragged on.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Harry saw Nott slacken completely.

It filled him with the strangest emotion he had ever felt. Seeing Nott's body completely slacking, how his jaw unclenched along with the rest of his facial musculature. Despite already lying on the ground, the words _'like cutting the strings off a marionette'_ came to the forefront of his mind.

How the light of life dissipated from his eyes.

Complete stillness. Harry didn't dare make a sound, as if the body would rise up and claim vengeance.

The bleeding had stopped and his blood now pooled around the body in a wide area which Harry had no wishes of currently coming anywhere close too.

There was so much red.

The weight of his actions began sinking over Harry and he could feel himself shaking uncontrollably.

He'd actually done it. He'd murdered someone in cold blood. Butchered him like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

Frowning, Harry tried standing up but found his knees shaking too bad for him to actually get up on his feet. His eyes was tearing up and he couldn't breathe, his lungs dragging ragged gasps of air into his lungs as stress settled in.

Desperately trying to get himself under control, Harry broke down and wailed into the darkness, unheard by anyone.

* * *

It was Monday morning when Harry finally stumbled inside the dining hall and Daphne breathed out in relief upon seeing him. He had been gone the entire weekend and Daphne had grown worried about his absence.

Plopping down tiredly in his seat at the far end far away from the rest of his housemates, Harry began eating ravenously and didn't notice Daphne as she plopped down in her seat beside him.

"I've missed you the last couple of days."

Harry froze for a short moment before throwing Daphne a small smile.

"Its good to see you.", Harry murmured sincerely before continuing to eat. He looked pale and famished, something which Daphne noted with a worried frown.

"Can i ask where you've been?"

"Studying.", Harry's tone came somewhat clipped and Daphne easily caught on to the lie, but kept it to herself as she served herself some food as well. She figured it was best to let it lie.

Leaning forward to get herself something to drink, she noticed something knew about him.

"Hey, where's your glasses?"

Upon her question, Harry looked at her in confusion until she gestured to his face. Almost wondrously, Harry put a hand to his face, noting that in fact his glasses was indeed missing from his eyes.

"...I...I didn't even notice...", Harry whispered in silent astonishment, before fishing out his glasses from his pocket.

Frowning at him with both worry and confusion, Daphne leaned closer to him.

"...Is everything alright, Harry...?"

"Oh, yes...", Harry whispered back with his nearly rattling voice. As he put on his glasses, Daphne thought she could see his eyes glowing eerily green under the shadow of his hair, but failed to confirm before he put his glasses on.

"I've never been better."


	10. Chapter 10 Cracking the Egg

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 10 Cracking the Egg**

"Is the gryffindork girls so bad that need to go after promised Slytherin girls instead, Potter?"

Harry froze on the grass in one of the open gardens of Hogwarts, hearing a voice call out he hadn't been bothered by in a long time.

Turning around, Harry frowned as Draco and his gang came up to him.

"Malfoy.", Harry muttered, the only greeting he would ever give the stuck up ponce. They had kept a polite distance from one another until now, yet finally it seemed his jealousy for Daphne's affections won out Draco's reason.

"Tell me Potter.", Draco sneered as he pranced up into his face. "How is it, dating someone you know by next summer will be married and gone forever?"

"We are not dating.", Harry frowned as he pushed down his anger. As he turned around to leave, which he immediately realized was a mistake, Malfoy dashed forward and ripped his schoolbag from his arm.

Laughing and jeering, Malfoy quickly stepped back with a gleeful expression on his face, anticipation of what Harry would do showing clearly.

"Come on now Potty.", Malfoy jeered, spurred on by the murmuring crowd around them. As it was between classes, the area was full with students of all ages, curiously looking at the spectacle.

Scowling darkly, Harry reeled in his anger and calmly stepped forward towards him, only for his two goons Grabbe and Goyle to step in front of him, their ugly smirks infuriating Harry even further.

"Give it back, Malfoy.", Harry growled out, glaring darkly at the laughing teen in front of him.

He could feel their amusement. Of both the crowd and the gang and it sickened him. If he could, he would make them unable to feel anything at all during the rest of their lives.

"Tsk tsk, Potty Potter.", Malfoy sneered, holding the bag up daintily at his side as he shook his head. "Ask nicely now. I want you to beg for it."

Harry's hands clenched and he could feel himself shake with anger.

Slowly reaching up to take off his glasses, Harry fixed Malfoy with a deathly cold glare.

The gang and the crowd seemed to go completely silent upon his actions, wariness filling their presence in Harry's mind.

"...Glowing eyes...", Harry heard someone mutter quietly at the side, but he paid it no mind.

"Give back the bag...", Harry rattled eerily. "...before i throw you out the owlery..." Tilting his head, Harry looked meaningfully at Malfoy whom now looked more unsure of his actions. "...Please."

The entire crowd was silent, but just as Malfoy cleared his voice nervously in order to answer, a voice called out and finally broke the silence.

"What is going on here!?", a young teen called out. Looking over his shoulder, Harry saw a Ravenclaw prefect making his way through the throngs of people, but he hadn't seen them yet.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, Harry pushed through Crabbe and Goyle, shoving them away harshly before descending upon Malfoy. The crowd gasped as them both were sent flying, but Harry didn't care as he ripped his bag back from Malfoy's hands.

Fixing him with a last glare of resentment, Harry quickly stalked off towards his next class before anyone could point him out to the prefect.

Harry nearly snarled in disgust as the crowd nearly threw themselves away in order to clear a path for him. He hated the attention. If there were any charms to make himself invisible or something he vowed to learn it whatever it took. The cloak of invisibility was not something he wanted to exactly bring around everywhere.

* * *

The rest of the day had been insufferable and Harry nearly lashed out in rage several times upon hearing the petty whispers around the halls.

After his last... ritual, he had quickly noticed how much better his hearing had become. He could hear further and he would notice smaller sounds much quicker, but with to his dismay it was now nearly impossible to not overhear the gossip and whispers from the students around him.

With time, he would learn to ignore it, but for now their stupidity infuriated him.

At the end of the day at dinner, Harry sat by his table eating slowly and rubbed his temples in slow, soothing circles.

 _"...I...don't you..."_ , someone whispered to his far left and Harry twitched slightly. He ignored it and ate on.

 _"...He...Potter..."_

 _"...Dangerous..."_

Harry scowled. The entire day had been like this. Maybe the book upon occlumency would help? He hadn't taken the time to begin his studies upon it, but Daphne had mentioned it aided upon organizing your mind. It was worth a shot in any case.

A familiar presence came upon him from behind and Harry refrained from twitching upon hearing the thud of her shoes upon the floor.

"So.", Daphne muttered as she seated herself next to him like always. "Heard you had an interesting run in with Malfoy?"

"Hardly.", Harry scoffed as he gave her a greeting nod. "He acted just as pathetic as he always have been. Honestly surprised it took him this long to start again with his attitude."

"I had expected him to begin again sooner as well, to be perfectly honest.", Daphne murmured thoughtfully with a small smirk. "I'm just happy he's currently leaving me alone as it is. But onto more important matters. Have you begun reading the book i gave you?"

"Not yet." Harry could feel the disapproving stare she gave him. "But i will. I've just been busy."

"I know its none of my business, but i will still stress the importance that you learn at the very least a rudimentary understanding of it as soon as possible." At Harry's understanding nod, Daphne seemed pleased with his reaction and turned back to her own food. "So any further luck with your golden egg?"

Harry sighed. Another task which had continued to elude him.

"Sort of.", Harry frowned. "I've tried a lot of things with it in order for it to change its horrid sound, since i seriously doubt its a hint as it is now. I'm fairly sure i need a 'filter' for me to hear properly, but i haven't come to any conclusions just yet."

Daphne pursed her lips in thought.

"Well, a dragon is a creature of fire. Have you tried fire?"

"Yes.", Harry nodded, looking around to make sure nobody was eavesdropping. "But i am thinking of trying an element of its opposition, since fire did not work."

"Water?", Daphne murmured, smiling slightly as Harry nodded. "Well, you can always use the prefects bathrooms if you want discretion."

"What, they have their own bathrooms?", Harry cocked a brow at her. "I've never heard of it."

"Exactly.", Daphne giggled. "Most people don't, even the prefects, since the teachers do not inform them of it."

"Seems a bit counterproductive...", Harry murmured.

"Yeah, but many prefects used it for more illicit activities, so i think they've just stopped informing them."

"Illicit activities?", Harry asked in clarification. Seeing the smirk and cocked brow on Daphne's face however made him realize how stupid the question had been. "Right. That's how you found about it then?"

Daphne gave Harry a scandalized expression before kicking him in the shin beneath the table, much to Harry's amusement. He idly noted how her kick did not even hurt the slightest.

"You arse. But no, i overheard Herrington, the Slytherin prefect talking about it in the dorms. Apparently he'd heard about it from his father or something."

Thoughtfully, Harry nodded at her with interest as she explained how to enter the prefects bathroom.

* * *

 _'Come seek us where our voices sound,_

 _We cannot sing above the ground,_

 _And while you're searching ponder this;_

 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

 _An hour long you'll have to look,_

 _And to recover what we took,_

 _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_

 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back.'_

Having heard the clue from the golden egg, Harry reemerged from the water in the tub and scowled into the ceiling.

He quickly closed the egg before taking it out of the water where he put it on the ground next to him. Leaning back, Harry rested against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes in thought.

Something would be taken from him, something he would miss. Harry pondered this for a moment and concluded it could mean something other than an item entirely. The fact that he would not get it back sounded somewhat ominous and he would not assume it a simple scare tactic, considering he had to fight a dragon in his first task.

The egg could only be heard properly under water, coinciding with the line in the song, 'We cannot sing above the ground'. Harry would bet everything on the next task taking place under water, or at the very least related to water. He would assume the worst, then get positively surprised if anything other than his worst assumption came to life.

The lake outside came to his mind. It was the largest body of water anywhere near the castle and likely the grounds for the next task. The lake was large and wide. Theoretically, if someone wanted to hide something down there, it would be near impossible to find it, unless the area or object was something notable or distinct and he would only have 1 hour on him to find it.

Harry frowned. Facts were missing in his deduction. This could easily be rectified.

Smirking, Harry looked over his shoulder.

"Myrtle.", Harry muttered and willed her to come forth. Her ethereally wispy form glided forward into his vision under his will, a somber, still expression on her face.

Harry had honestly completely forgotten about her during his last couple of months, but counted himself lucky she hadn't witnessed his kidnapping of Nott. While nobody paid 'Moaning Myrtle' any mind, it was still an unnecessary risk to have.

She had glided into his vision while he was bathing and Harry had panicked. A stray thought came to his foremind that ghosts such as her should count as an undead and Harry had slammed his will over her presence, brute forcing his dominion over her mind before she could fight back.

Unsurprisingly, since necromancy was to control death itself, Myrtle's mind had little resistance and with a drawn out distorted wail was now his willing puppet. A part of his mind felt sorry for the dead girl, whom he shared some history with considering his second year, but he argued that she was already dead as it was. At least now she could serve a higher purpose, rather than wasting away in a bathroom.

Clearing his voice, Harry smiled at Myrtle. Maybe it was unnecessary to give her the words of his command considering that his will was now her own, but the relenting pity he felt for her made him want to treat her with at least some form of civility.

"I have a task for you."

* * *

He had always hated potions brewing. Always.

During the first year, he'd met the class with a certain amount of trepidation, but had been eager and hopeful like with all his classes. Snape however had squashed any motivation he had for the study, but he now turned to it for answers for the next task of the triwizard tournament.

Necromancy of the olden days had often taken use of potions, and quite a few of them were written in Ludvig's book. He was... Hesitant to use them. Many of them included human blood and most were intended for either vampires or lich. A few however he was quite interested in, especially one which could suit his purposes nicely.

'The Elixir of Distilled Undeath'.

It would induce a death like state upon Harry's body, much like the 'Inferi' Harry had read about in some of the other dark books in the chamber. His heart would seize to beat and his body would, in all essence, become undead for a good amount of time. If brewed wrong however, Harry would not survive it even with his ritualistic enhancements. There were some other side effects he was worried about as well. He could get much paler skin, permanently, much like that of a corpse. While not a severe consequence, it would give people a telltale sign that something was wrong with him.

It would not do for anyone to snoop into his business, not with the times as they were.

Sitting in the darkness of his chambers, several books laid strewn about on the moldy table in front of him. Only Ludvig's book laid neatly by itself on the side, but Harry had a growing suspicion he'd have to return to it.

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples, reading the barely illuminated pages of the book in front of him, candlelight flickering ever so softly in the dusty air.

He'd so far been able to find no potions what so ever that suited his needs. One which would provide the user with the ability to breathe underwater did not last long enough for the task and that was the best one he'd found so far.

Harry frowned and leaned back into the chair, gazing towards Ludvig's book. There were other methods, sure, like charms and transfiguration. The bubblehead charm for example seemed like a viable option, but the risk was great. Harry doubted the lake would give them no opposition between them and their goal. If something damaged the bubblehead and it popped, Harry doubted it would be as simple as recasting the bubblehead charm so far underwater, were the pressure was so much greater than above on land.

No, what he needed was a fail safe solution. Something that couldn't be taken from him by an angry beast or opponent. His dominating will would help him, sure, but he had no intentions of giving the audience any hints what so ever of his ability.

He was growing frustrated again.

Turning around in his chair, he willed forth one of the rats that was lying in the shadows close by.

As it ran out in front of him, Harry stretched his hand towards it, and scowled with a sinister smirk as he could feel the putrid energy of necromantic magic swirling beneath his palm.

 _"Herthus!"_ , Harry hissed, his fingers curling into his palm as the magic burst from his hand.

The rat squealed in pain, shivering as it began to rot from the inside out. A couple of seconds was all it took before it stilled, putrid, rotting cysts bursting from its fur.

'The Curse of Decay'. Against such a small, magic less creature it took just a couple of seconds to kill it. Against others, technically much longer. It was a spell Ludvig had gathered from his study in the old ages of Egypt. Apparently, they were the greatest necromancers of their time and the study of it had been widely approved by its society. The Pharaohs were the most powerful necromancers of the country, according to Ludvig's book, which brought some interesting theories to Harry's head regarding the stories of the biblical plagues, considering how many of their spells seemed to do many of the same things.

Looking at his hand as the deathly energies evaporated, Harry looked it over wondrously, fascinated by the feeling of the energies that filled him.

Ludvig's book had warned him, that the use of necromantic spells slowly killed its user over vast amounts of time. Using it would feel like the sweetest reward known to man, but one should stay disciplined unless you shorten your lifespan.

Considering the rush it gave Harry every time, he could very well see how one could become addicted to it.

Rubbing his temples, he turned back to his books on the table with a frown.

After a moment of thought, Harry gave a lingering glance at Ludvig's book.

Thanks to Myrtle's help, he knew where his goal would be. He knew what would likely be facing him. Now, he just needed the tool to get there.

Reaching towards the book, Harry knew his choice had already been made.


	11. Chapter 11 The Dying

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 11 Dying**

1 Hour.

He had one hour left until the tournament would begin, and his potion was finally ready.

In the darkness of the chambers, Harry had sweat and bled in order to finish the concoction in time. It had been a struggle, and his final success had been after several failed attempts. It had cost him a fortune, as he had to get most of his ingredients by post. Risky business as well, considering the legal restrictions of them.

But now, it was finally done. At least, by the gods, Harry hoped he'd done it right.

Standing in the utter darkness of his study, the cauldron and potion tools burned and sputtered with smoke next to him, filling the room with a putrid smell. It did not bother him anymore.

The vial was held in hand as Harry scrutinized it for the slightest mistake there could be.

Such a small thing with such potentially disastrous effects.

Swallowing his fear, Harry knew he was out of time as it was. It was now or never, as he would not risk drinking the potion of front of anyone. Should someone get a hold of this...

Harry shuddered.

Lifting it up, Harry held it to his lips and drank.

The taste was more horrible than the smell, a septic, disgusting and coppery taste.

His eyes watered and he immediately held his nose shut in order to try and relieve some of the horrible sensations.

The potion took immediate effect.

Feeling as if someone suddenly, and literally stabbed a knife through Harry's heart, he widened his eyes in shock upon the intensity of the pain and froze, the vial slipping out of his grip before shattering upon the ground.

Collapsing, Harry immediately sunk into a fetal position, his breath gurgling desperately for air, but there was none he was able to get through to his lungs. Panicking, Harry could barely think with the intense pain that was flaring in his heart. His skin had become numb, further focusing and clarifying the intense pain in his heart.

Minutes went and Harry laid there with a panicked, expression of his face, unable to do anything with the pain.

It didn't go away. He knew something had gone wrong even without consulting the book. He could feel it. He could feel the potion killing him, even if it hadn't killed him just yet.

After what felt like the longest time, the pain began to slowly recede until Harry could finally sit up straight again.

He couldn't breathe. At all. No matter how much he tried, his lungs would not draw breath yet he felt no need for it. It was the oddest and most claustrophobic experience he'd ever had to date and the pain didn't help either.

Something had gone wrong with the potion. He could feel it.

Frowning, Harry cleared his voice, noticing his vocal cord still responding despite it sounding even more gravelly than it usually was. He immediately decided that avoiding conversation would be a good idea.

While the pain had receded somewhat, it was still great enough for him to have difficulties thinking clearly. He knew, at an instinctual level, that he was dying. The potion was still killing him slowly as it was.

He had no idea what to do. Casting a quick _tempus_ , Harry noted with further dismay that he was out of time, the champions were meeting in just a few moments for pre-trial preparations and he had to be there.

The potion was killing him, yet on the other hand if he should fail to participate, he would lose his magic. He couldn't seek medical aid either, as if someone would discover exactly what he'd ingested, he would surely be put in front of a jury in chains.

There were no good options in this scenario. Harry had screwed up big time.

With a pained groan, Harry rose to his feet.

While it wasn't worth much, the potion hadn't killed him yet and he still felt strong, despite the crippling pain in his heart. He would have to put up a mask and hope to endure it throughout the task, then begin to look for a cure as fast as possible.

Time was ticking.

* * *

Standing on the platform in nothing but shorts and a t-shirt, Harry cursed his lack of forethought, but found it difficult to care through the intense pain. His skin was excessively pale and had been noticed by both faculty and students alike.

He ignored them. He couldn't afford thinking about them right now.

His deductions had all proven correct, but Harry had already known that. They had to get to the bottom of the lake where a village of merpeople resided. It was there that something that was important to them lied waiting for them to retrieve back to the finish line.

Harry gave a quick glance towards the stands to see if he saw Daphne, but he was unable to spot her among the many people. Before anyone could catch his eyes, he turned his eyes back to the waters ahead.

Any moment now they would give the go and he would be off.

The pain was still excruciating, but had become more manageable than what it had been. He would endure this.

The sound of a bang filled the air and Harry let himself fall forward head first towards the waters below, barely feeling the water upon his numb skin. The cold of it didn't bother him the slightest and Harry began to quickly swim deeper into the depths of the dark lake.

Reaching out with his mind, he couldn't feel where the merpeople were, but he knew already by heart the direction he would have to take. It would be easy to point them out when he was within distance.

He swam fast, kicking like he'd researched would make him swim faster and his former ritual helped with his great strength. His body didn't tire despite his new sickness and Harry cleared ground much more quickly than he had expected.

Feeling lots of minor creatures nearby in the underwater foliage, Harry discreetly dominated their minds, knowing people would be watching. It took no effort as this was something he now had with such a practiced ease that he did not even need to think consciously on it to do it.

Harry willed the creatures to go after the other contestants, whoever was closest to finishing the goal and swam on his way.

Eventually, Harry entered the truly dark pits of the lake. Faintly, he could hear the merpeople singing through the water close by, their presences and will clearly there in his mind. He wouldn't dare to dominate their minds, considering their intelligence despite being creatures. Not with people watching.

Harry idly noted the interesting architecture of their buildings, reminding him of other civilizations he'd read about and seen pictures off. Before he could think further on it, he came upon what looked like a wide block in front of a large temple like structure.

4 People were fastened upon wooden poles, seemingly in stasis.

Harry's eyes widened upon seeing Daphne, her eyes closed peacefully with a serene expression on her face.

She was what he would miss the most?

The thought was just as amusing as it was embarrassing, but Harry couldn't fault the organizers idea. She was his only real friend he had left in his life. Harry also saw Hermoine and Cho, along with a very young girl Harry couldn't recognize.

Harry frowned as he remembered the clue from the egg. He wouldn't believe for a second that they would let them rot in the lake if their corresponding champions couldn't get them in time. Besides, they were the other champions responsibility.

Satisfied with his reasoning, Harry pulled out his wand and wordlessly cast a carefully aimed cutting curse to the rope binding above Daphne's head to free her. Holding her across her midriff, Harry began kicking for the surface. He wanted to get up as fast as possible.

He broke the surface after just a minute, and reared away from Daphne in surprise when she immediately began to sputter and hack up water as she finally woke up. Harry figured the charm, whatever it was, was set to cancel itself out whenever she was brought up.

"Hang on love.", Harry groused, his voice sounding like the pit of death itself. He really hoped she wouldn't remark on it. "I'l get you to dry land in a moment, try to relax."

Keeping her cold, shivering body under his arm as he swam, Harry made sure to hold her up in the water for her to breathe. She looked like she was having enough conniptions as it was.

As they neared the edge, the faculty stood ready to aid them back onto the platform, cheered on by the audience of the schools.

Harry didn't care about them, nor was he able to muster up his usual disgust with their act. His mind was set on the worrying affliction in his heart.

As they finally came on land, Harry threw a drying and warming charm wordlessly on them both before wrapping her up in a blanket. His actions brought a grateful thanks in return from Daphne who was looking at him with a warm grin.

"Took you long enough."

Harry scoffed at her saucy expression and shook his head.

"Serves you right for volunteering to dip in this time of season."

Harry gave a little smile as Daphne began giggling at his words. It was a nice sound he'd grown to like. A small thing he hadn't noticed he appreciated with her presence.

Looking over Daphne's shoulder, Harry saw madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore making their way towards them along with the other judges.

He couldn't afford speaking with them now, especially not Dumbledore and Pomfrey. Should they discover what he had done...

Stepping backwards and towards the exit, Harry began walking quickly to leave before they noticed him.

"H-Harry?", Daphne called out with worry after him, but he ignored her. He couldn't afford stopping. Only the chamber would provide sanctuary and solitude until the failed potion wore off.

...If it ever wore off.

Gripping his chest with a snarl for his own stupidity, Harry slammed through the doors of the makeshift stands, before barreling towards the castle as soon as he was out of sight.

* * *

An hour passed and Harry was feeling somewhat better as he sat alone in the utter silence of the chamber.

He had begun retching and throwing up half an hour ago, but that had stopped some minutes after it started. He'd hoped his body would throw up whatever was killing him, but his heart still felt like something was literally ripping it apart.

The pain was still so indescribable. It was tearing at his mind as it was.

Harry sweated nervously as his eyes darted across the pages of Ludvig's book, looking for any cure at all against whatever was causing him harm.

He found none, which did not surprise Harry at all. Ludvig had written the book as a lich when he compiled all his work. A lich was fundamentally different than a living being and it was likely that such a failed potion wouldn't have harmed one at all. Ludvig probably did not even know of all the potential side effects of it, considering he never had to suffer them himself.

Harry could feel his desperation growing. He didn't know how long he had left, nor did he know what the hell he was supposed to do. He'd been stupid, incredibly so, and now he was paying the price for it.

"...Stupid...!", Harry hissed at himself, hitting himself in his face once in self-loathing. It didn't hurt, further irritating him.

Minutes ticked by without Harry growing any smarter. He eventually relented in the fact that he had to face the music sooner or later, and if he was gone for too long the consequences would be even more severe than before. People would eventually be looking for him and he'd rather walk back by his own accord instead of being dragged by the teachers.

Sighing, Harry nearly felt like crying. He supposed he could look into some other books, maybe some rituals would aid him, but for now he had nothing.

It was a long walk from the tower and when he finally entered a lighted area again, Harry was happy to see that his skin tone was more or less back to normal. Maybe a shade or so lighter than what he could remember, but not enough for anyone to really be suspicious.

It was dinner time, possibly the worst time to get something to eat if he wanted to avoid attention, but it would be better to just get it over with as soon as possible.

As he entered the dining hall, he heard the sound dropping much in volume among his peers. McGonagall gave a visible sigh of relief before she stood up with a very displeased expression marching straight at him. He could already tell this was going to be a long tirade.

He noticed Daphne standing up from where she was seated, looking at him with a worried expression. Harry managed to give her a confident smile before McGonagall was upon him.

"Mr. Potter.", Mcgonagall muttered at him with the same sour expression she'd had all year. "Follow me."

Rolling his eyes as McGonagall passed him without further words, Harry turned and followed dutifully. He considered asking where they were going, but he already knew she'd take him straight to the headmaster's office. It was the only logical conclusion after all.

Harry sighed, noting he was in dire need of a shower as they walked.

* * *

"Come in, Harry, please.", Dumbledore said kindly, standing up with a small smile as Harry entered his office with a wary expression. "Lemondrop?" Not wishing to expose his voice more than necessary, Harry merely shook his head as he came up to his desk. "Take a seat, if you will."

Harry sat down with a certain amount of trepidation, doing his best to ignore the flaring pain in his chest.

"Impressive display at the contest Harry.", Dumbledore began as he seated himself as well. "Impressive display indeed. I believe that i should inform you that you are even further in the lead than what you were during the last trial. You finished the task much smoother and faster than anyone else among the contestants. The Beauxbatons champion and Cedric couldn't finish at all, unable to handle the surprising amount of Grindylows which set upon them."

Harry cocked a brow in surprise. So, Grindylows were the name of the creatures he'd sensed and dominated the minds off. He was pleased Fleur and Cedric didn't finish. Fleur had given him nothing but bad vibes since their first encounter and Harry had seen Cedric laughing with his friends whom were making fun of Harry, wearing Draco's childish emblems in the beginning of the tournament.

While he hadn't worn one himself, nor personally done anything against Harry, he hadn't done anything for him either. Harry owed him nothing.

"None of the other judges have any idea what it is that you used to perform as you did, but we have all concluded it has to be a potion you brewed." Harry stiffened slightly at his words, but did his best to stay calm. Dumbledore looked at Harry with a curios little smile. "Forgive me for asking, and please know that you are very much entitled to your own secrets, but may i ask what potion you brewed?"

Harry frowned a little, nervously scratching his chin. A half truth would possibly be the most disarming argument.

"I think id rather keep it to myself professor, if you do not mind terribly."

"I hope it wasn't anything dangerous?", Dumbledore frowned at him with worry, and Harry was quick to shake his head.

"Not at all.", Harry denied. "I brewed it with a friend of mine, and i assure you it was nothing dangerous at all." Finishing his lie with a small, amused smile, Harry shook his head again in amusement. "Well, no more dangerous than being in the tournament is at the very least."

His joke did its job, bringing a smile and a tired chuckle to Dumbledore's face. Quickly enough however, Dumbledore's face quickly sunk back into the same worried expression he'd had earlier.

"You left the stands early.", Dumbledore began and Harry knew immediately where this was going. "Several of the teachers, Minerva included attempted to find you, but we could not. Minerva asked around among her lions, but none knew." Harry looked at Dumbledore who was inspecting his face with a worried expression. "Why is that Harry?"

Harry took a moment to think before responding. He'd have to choose his words carefully.

"I do not see eye to eye with most of my house."

"Most?", Dumbledore frowned. "What about Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger?"

"We no longer talk.", Harry muttered, feeling his emotions flare at the unwanted memory of the two backstabbers. "It was what they both chose."

Dumbledore looked at him with a long expression as he took a moment to think as well.

"I am assuming it was because of your unwilling induction into the tournament.", Dumbledore sighed, looking much older in that very moment. "It is none of my business, but i can only assume time's have not been easy for you lately. Ms. Skeeter's article about you in the papers made that much clear."

Harry couldn't help but feel there was a bit accusation in his voice when he spoke about the article.

"None of what was said was false.", Harry scowled slightly, but was quickly disarmed by Dumbledore's surrendering expression.

"That is not at all what I've been saying. You were in your every right to say what you did.", Dumbledore settled down. "I could make excuses that the faculty has been busy with both the tournaments, course preparation for the students and so on, but the point bears no weight as it is.", Dumbledore sighed. "I will not make excuses, not for me nor any of the teachers, though i must implore you to try at the very least to look past their transgressions."

His words surprised Harry. Out of everything he had expected to come from the Headmaster's mouth, this had not been it.

It left him with a strange emotion and Harry couldn't find it in himself to be angry with the old man.

"I...", Harry groused, before clearing his voice emotionally. "I will try my best. I do not blame you, headmaster, you're not present in any of the classes, but i will admit that i am less than impressed with most of the teachers. The entirety of the school made their position about my part in the tournament VERY clear the first weeks of the announcement and the teachers did nothing."

"I see...", Dumbledore frowned. "I will have words with the proffessors then. Maybe they can talk to the houses-"

"No, please!", Harry quickly interjected with a worried frown. "I really do not want to make a case of it. Im lucky enough to be mostly left alone now. If the teachers talk to their houses, im sure il become a target again for some, having 'snitched' to the faculty, or some equally stupid reason."

Dumbledore fell silent a moment, a sad yet considering expression on his face.

"It truly has not been easy for you this year, has it Harry...?"

"I'm fine, Professor.", Harry swallowed thickly. Emotions were swirling and Harry really couldn't figure what was going on with him. Maybe it was because it was the first time, since Daphne that someone had acknowledged him and been sympathetic. "Daphne has been a great help after all."

"Yes, i would believe so.", Dumbledore smiled wistfully. "I must admit i was surprised when Professor Snape recomended her for your task."

"Snape did?", Harry widened his eyes in surprise.

"He did, yes.", Dumbledore chuckled. "But enough about that, I'm sure you're tired and in need of both rest and food after your task. Maybe a shower as well, before you tuck in tonight?"

Harry blushed and nodded with embarrasment before standing up as Dumbledore did.

Parting farewell, Harry breathed out in relief as he left Dumbledore's office, a scowl forming on his face.

It had felt nice, being acknowledged like that and shown sympathy. It had made him regret his actions and for a brief second Harry had considered going back.

Back into the light, where he so often in the past had dreamed of belonging.

Harry shook his head and gripped his chest painfully with a snarl, walking hurriedly back to the halls to get something to eat.

Had Dumbledore known the things he'd done to survive, he would have been the first to bring him before the dementors, Harry was sure.

He could dream, he supposed. But dreams rarely ever became anything other than what they were.

Dreams.

* * *

It didn't take Daphne long to seat herself next to Harry as he sat down to eat. Harry noted how closely she sat at his side, but refrained from commenting. He supposed she was just worried about him, but the adoration he felt from her presence told him otherwise.

He ignored the fact.

"So.", Daphne trailed off silently after a moment, looking slyly at him from over her shoulder. "I am what you would miss the most am i...?"

Maybe it was further egged on by the intense pain in his chest, but Harry quickly grew both embarrased and angry at her words.

"Not a hard competition, as you're the only person here i have to miss."

His words were spoken in a passive tone, but served their purpose, silencing Daphne and causing an awkward silence to fall over them. Harry did his best to ignore her as he ravenously dug into his food.

"Harry.", Daphne murmured after a short minute and Harry nearly frowned at the amount of worry he could feel from her. "Is something wrong?"

Harry considered his words carefully, while playing it off as uncaring.

"Why do you ask?"

"You left so quickly again.", she whispered, leaning into him. "And you were so pale."

Harry slowed his eating and frowned. He felt vulnerable and scared. Even so, she couldn't know. Not the entire truth.

"Well...", Harry murmured, giving Daphne a little smile before continuing to eat. "I am not alright right now, but i will be."

Hopefully.

Daphne's worried frown lingered despite his words.


	12. Chapter 12 Grim and the Grave

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 12 Grim and the Grave**

The candlelight flickered on the dusty wooden table within Harry's chambers. His eyes were sunken as he read Ludvig's book.

His heart was painfully ripping itself to pieces, bit for bit, slowly killing him a little bit more for every day that passed. Every breath he took seemed like a priceless gift now, every glass of water the sweetest wine.

He was so afraid of dying. He was not ready.

Harry frowned and gripped his chest with a grimace as the pain flared, settling just a moment later.

A week had passed since the trial and he was no closer to finding a cure to his recent affliction. After a couple of days, he'd put away Ludvig's book in frustration and taken to the many other books present in the library, but had so far been met with little success.

There was nothing viable in any of them, and so, he returned to the book that had already served as his savior several times over.

Harry had found himself thinking often on his mortality as of late. Every time he began thinking about it... He couldn't help but remember Nott.

* * *

 _It filled him with the strangest emotion he had ever felt. Seeing Nott's body completely slacking, how his jaw unclenched along with the rest of his facial musculature. Despite already lying on the ground, the words 'like cutting the strings off a marionette' came to the forefront of his mind._

 _How the light of life dissipated from his eyes._

* * *

Harry drew a shuddering breath.

He wasn't ready.

He was not ready to become what Nott had. He was not ready to become that still husk, unmoving and empty.

The image frightened him more than the memories of the dementors ever had. Harry knew that he perhaps deserved death, considering what he had done to Nott, but he didn't want it.

Harry felt heavy with guilt and resignation.

He'd so far found no solutions... Apart from one.

Slowly, Harry flicked the pages of the book to the page of his desire. At the top of the page, the old and weathered letters made out a barely readable headline.

 _'Lichdom'_

Harry's finger trailed down the page, eyes flitting between the words he'd already read several times.

 _'The decision to enter the unlife as an undead, is a choice one should not take lightly. History has shown that the undead are treated with revulsion, scorn and genocide by the living, times and times again. It is an amusing prospect of duality, where the magical and non-magical has never been able to co-exist peacefully, neither can the living and the unliving._

 _Do not fool yourself to think otherwise. I myself once did so, and it cost me the unlife of my wife. I suspect myself to soon follow, as the world scours their lands for my kind as i am writing these pages. This is not the first time such a purge has occurred throughout our histories. Several times, the living has tried to snuff us out._

 _Yet we remain, like moths drawn to the flame as generations for generations of Necromancers drink from the sweet poison that is our chosen branch of magic._

 _No matter how the living tries, we still remain and will long after my death.'_

Harry breathed deeply and turned the page. From what Harry had gathered, one riddled with sickness and fatal deficiencies could survive by becoming an undead. Even someone bleeding to death could be saved by unlife such as Vampirism.

Harry had not wanted it originally. But perhaps the living the unlife of a Lich, would be better than becoming Nott. He still had so much more he wanted to do, but his time was running out.

Time. Time was always running out for the living.

Harry grimaced and clutched his chest as another flare of pain made itself known.

He read on.

* * *

It was a slow Monday when Bagman had summoned the champions from their classes towards the Quidditch pitch. Apparently, the last and final trial would be a maze grown from some vile plant, which would form the hedges that made out the many corridors of the maze. The entire Quidditch pitch was filled filled with the plant as it grew, and in just a few months time would be ready for the last trial.

Their task? Get the Triwizard cup from its center.

Harry had nearly scoffed when Bagman explained their goal. There would undoubtedly be more to the challenge than just finding your way through.

As he walked back to the castle alone, Harry pondered what it could be they would be facing withing the confines of the maze. The first trial had been dragons, the second had been held underwater...

The third?

Most likely they'd fill the maze with creatures, considering that had been the general theme of the entire tournament so far. With his newfound powers that could prove to be very easy, but Harry did not want to depend of it being simple. Such lack of vigilance could get him killed.

...And there was also the matter of whoever had inducted him into the tournament falsely to begin with. If there truly was someone out there looking to kill him, they were quickly running out of options. He wouldn't put it passed whoever it was to do something no longer covert in order to get the job done, but most likely they would attempt something sinister during the trial.

Harry scowled as he entered the halls of Hogwarts once more, clutching a hand to his chest. He needed a plan and he needed to study.

He needed to prepare for whatever lied ahead, should he ever hope to avoid Nott's fate at the hands of someone else.

* * *

Days went by and Harry had begun to miss Daphne's presence.

With his newfound conviction, Harry had thrown himself into both training and studying, fueled by the resolve to live and fight for his life. He saw an enemy and betrayer in every passing student, a threat in every shadow that did not reside within his chambers.

He found himself on edge quite often and Daphne had respectfully taken some distance. He missed her, but it was necessary that she stayed away until whoever was trying to kill him had been rooted out and removed. He had treated her more harshly than what he had wanted and it broke his heart when the only response she ever had to his aggression was a somber smile.

She deserved so much better.

He had eventually told her straight up that she should give him space until after the tournament, no longer able to bear his own treatment of her. The kiss she'd placed on his cheek still lingered as a warm and sweet memory, but it was for the best.

Harry was a monster, he knew that now. She would be better off without him and Harry hoped that fate would smile brighter on the girl when summer finally came.

Months passed this way, and while Harry's heart deteriorated just a minuscule amount during the time, the desperation in him grew disproportionally by its amount. He almost considered just leaving school altogether to save his own life, but he managed to hold himself from such a rash action.

The day eventually came, inevitably as everything did.

The champions had been given the day off, an opportunity Harry had gladly accepted.

Within the darkness of the chambers, Harry fastened the enchanted leather protections he'd bought on his body, beneath his cloak with a determined scowl on his face. He'd allowed himself to spend some of the considerable wealth he had and invested in something which hopefully proved unnecessary. The gear was high quality, as were its enchantments and had ended up costing quite a sum, but Harry found it needed, if only to give himself some false sense of security.

Putting the last straps in place, Harry stood and took a deep breath, steeling himself for the task to come.

Whatever happened, he would not die here.

He was ready.

Scowling with a dark smile, Harry stepped towards the exit, reaching out with his will and his mind, he sensed each and every presence in and outside of the castle. Bustling like bees, they were all moving towards the Quidditch pitch in disharmony at different paces.

Grinning sinisterly, Harry closed his eyes as he left the confines of his inner chambers, reaching out and quickly dominating the lesser minds of each and every rat within the closest mile. Stepping past Elize's tunnels, their minds gave no resistance and obeyed his will.

He willed them all towards the pitch, staying clear from any mind and presence not under Harry's control.

Rats were small and unnoticeable. They would serve his needs well.

* * *

The stands were filled to the brim with spectators and as Harry arrived at the scene before the entrance of the maze, he quickly recognized the familiar faces of the Minister, Rita the journalist and several others which Harry didn't know.

The champions stood waiting some distance off from the maze's entrance in tense silence, each and every contestant showing a clear sign of nervousness.

But not Harry. A calm sense of determination had fallen over him. He was afraid, yes, but it would not stop him.

Seeing the judges converse with the minister and the others present, Harry sighed and scoured the stands for Daphne. It was selfish of him, but he wanted to see her at least once before the trial.

He found her quickly enough, on the right side of the stands. She was the only one in the crowd not excitedly chattering or moving about.

She was simply watching him, with a nervous expression on her face with her hands calmly in her lap. Upon making eye contact, Daphne gave him a warm smile and waved at him. Harry couldn't help but smile back, giving her a slight wave as well. He really did miss her.

The moment was amusingly broken when Daphne in all of her character suddenly made a funny face at him, smiling cheekily at him when he began to chuckle before he could stop himself.

He shook his head as his amusement died down, giving her a last warm smile before turning his attention back to the maze.

He needed to focus.

He carefully guided each and every rat within his will all around the maze. Their small size made it easy for them to move about the hedges, filling every nook and cranny of the maze while staying undetected.

He could sense several other presences littering about the maze both in and outside. He figured some of those would belong to the faculty serving as security, while most where different creatures of all manners that they would be facing in the coming minutes.

The creatures could be his advantage, but eyes would be on him throughout the entire trial. He had to stay covert in what he did.

The appointed hour eventually arrived and anyone not having anything directly related responsibilities with the third trial seated themselves among the crowd.

Dumbledore came and gave a short explanation as to what would happen. Only upon reaching the center and upon touching the cup would the tournament be declared over. They could get there by any means necessary, but Harry doubted that meant they could kill each other.

Harry would go first, followed by Krum and the rest. Harry would make good use of the time he had in advantage, especially since he was already acutely aware of the maze's layout.

Finally, Filch fired the starting pistol, signaling for Harry to enter.

With a steely scowl, Harry ignored the flare of pain in his chest and strode into the maze.

* * *

While the trial had begun in the evening, the darkness within the maze seemed almost unnaturally produced, but Harry felt himself strangely comfortable now that he could no longer hear the roaring crowd. They could still see him, something he wouldn't forget for a single second, but at least he could no longer hear their cries.

His wand was out, although he suspected that he wouldn't need it as he strode confidently down the corridors. Suddenly, the hedges roared to life and Harry frowned, quickly stepping into another pathway to remove himself from the moving hedges.

He had already been walking for several minutes, coming ever closer to the center as he noticed the hedges suddenly moving with a furious speed, prompting him to quickly move away from the path he had been on. It seemed random, but Harry doubted it was.

In response, he'd had to will his rats to move accordingly to provide him information about the layout as it changed. It was a minor setback, nothing more, but it was still annoying every time the maze shifted.

Harry had so far managed to influence and lead away most of the creatures between himself and the goal. A couple of the presences he felt seemed...stronger and more intelligent than many of the others. Harry didn't dare try to influence them and instead stayed clear away as the hundreds of rats he controlled already provided any other alternatives he had.

Coming to a crossroads, Harry decided to take the time and pretend to be contemplating which way he should go, reaching out with his mind and tried to feel for the other contestants.

Harry nearly smiled as he picked them out. Cedric were surprisingly close, but the other two weren't anywhere near.

Even so... An idea popped into Harry's head as he began moving again, walking straight ahead further into the maze.

He would humiliate them further.

His right hand began circling its wrist in an undulating manner as Harry focused, not aware of his unconscious mannerism.

* * *

Cedric breathed heavily as he ran through the hedges, intent on catching up to Harry.

Rounding a corner without looking around it first, Cedric froze and paled.

A group of spiders, some breed of Acromantula chittered angrily as they swarmed towards him.

* * *

Harry smiled, focusing his attention elsewhere, taking a right turn as the hedges allowed it.

* * *

Fleur walked swiftly with a narrowed gaze down the long, single corridor. The hedge had recently shifted and her only way forward was down the long corridor which disappeared into the fog.

A feint, wheezing growl stopped her in her place.

In the distance, a silhouette appeared from the fog, blocking the entire way forward.

Fleur tried to be brave despite the horrid sound of the creature's growling, but couldn't help but shiver as it loomed towards her.

* * *

Harry's eyes fluttered as his focus receded again, taking a left turn as it appeared. The hedges had recently shifted, and as luck would have it, it made a path easier towards the cup.

His eyes shifted towards the direction of the last contestant.

* * *

"You...", Krum muttered with fearfully wide eyes. He involuntarily stepped backwards from the horror in front of him. "...You're supposed to be dead...!"

A shadowed man stood before him with an eerie grin, a man Krum obviously greatly feared from his memories long ago.

In his fear induced mind, Krum didn't realize that it was in fact not a man, but a creature in front of him, merely taking the shape of his nightmares.

* * *

Closing his eyes, Harry breathed deeply and allowed himself to smile a bit in satisfaction. They and all of those who doubted him had been bested and proven wrong.

And he had finally done it.

Opening his eyes, Harry looked upon the cup a yard in front of him, placed upon a stony pedestal, beneath a gazebo made of granite and marble.

Harry smirked and shook his head in amusement.

Perhaps he'd been wrong. If there was someone trying to kill him, they would surely have done something by now. But they hadn't.

Stepping forward, Harry chuckled a bit. This was it?

He'd been worried for nothing it seemed.

Harry quickly admonished himself for his line of thought. It was not a thought he should have been thinking in the first place. Complacency would get him killed.

Coming to a stop before the cup, Harry narrowed his eyes at the cup.

He wouldn't relax just yet. Something may just very well happen right after the tournament's end.

But for now...

Harry smiled and reached for the cup.

...Now the tournament was over.

As his hand touched upon the cup, a familiar sense of tugging on his naval made his stomach drop.

His eyes widened in shock before he was whisked away.

* * *

Harry slammed into the ground with a heave that left him breathless. The cup was sent flying to the side before lying idle as Harry coughed and sputtered.

He hated portkeys. With all of his being, he hated portkeys.

Shaking his head to clear his vision, Harry froze upon the sight that greeted him.

A graveyard surrounded him. A forest framed its edges a good distance away, while everywhere between Harry and there were stony tombs and headstones, some with statues of old which stood as monuments to the deceased.

Rising slowly, Harry was filled with a sense of trepidation, observing his area with narrowed eyes. Had the killer made his move?

Harry absentmindedly wondered how the killer had managed to enchant the cup, but didn't deny the possibility that he could be overly paranoid. Maybe it was a part of the trial.

Turning around, Harry stiffened in shock and dread.

Upon the tombstone in front of him, under the shadow of a looming statue of the grim reaper, was a name etched which he knew all too well.

'Riddle'.

"EXPELLIARMUS!", a hoarse voice suddenly called out.

Flinging himself around in fright, Harry was too slow as the spell slammed into his chest, just as he turned. His wand was flung uncontrollably out of his hand.

Another spell, this time wordlessly cast, constricted his body by some unseen bindings that prevented him from moving after his lost wand.

Grimacing in anger and fear, Harry tried to break free with his enhanced strength, but still couldn't manage to free a single finger as he nearly hovered in the air with his frozen position.

The figure came closer from the darkness of the forest.

The familiar face of Wormtail walked towards him, wand pointed at him.

A surge of pain struck his head as he noted the wrapped cloth in Wormtail's other arm.

"...Wormtail...!", Harry hissed in rage and disgust despite the searing pain in his forehead. Harry's vision grew worse as Wormtail came closer.

With a flick of Wormtail's wrist, Harry was flung back through the air. His black slammed into the grim reaper statue, but before Harry could react, Wormtail quickly, and with surprising proficiency, transfigured the statue to reach around Harry with its scythe. The handle pressed up against Harry's throat, not enough to choke him but enough to keep him in place.

A bout of panic struck Harry, struggling against the statue to free himself, but despite his strenght made no progress.

 **"Do it!"** , a wheezy voice gasped out and Harry immediately felt another surge of pain in his forehead. **"Do it now!"**

Even if Harry couldn't see where the voice came from, Harry knew it came from the bundle in Wormtail's arms.

Harry instantly knew, that whoever was wrapped up in that bundle of cloth, could only be one person.

Despite the surging pain and panic, Harry did his best to calm his beating heart and observe the closest area. A cauldron stood a couple of feet away from himself, something which Harry had not noticed seconds earlier. Having performed and read enough rituals himself to recognize its preparation, Harry renewed his struggle to free himself.

Nothing good could come from a ritual that little, vile creature intended to do.

Wormtail walked slowly, almost unwillingly towards the couldron where he suddenly dumped the creature from his arms into. The action froze Harry as he watched, hoping beyond anything that the little creature would drown.

Snapping around with his wand, Wormtail pointed straight towards the stone coffin right next to Harry, momentarily stopping his heart in fright.

The coffin slowly opened, a bone quickly levitating up and through its opening.

"...Bone of the father...", Wormtail muttered sounding nearly as scared as Harry felt himself as the bone levitated towards the cauldron. "...Unwillingly given..."

The bone dropped into the boiling water, where Wormtail quickly positioned himself right next to.

"...Flesh...of the servant...", Wormtail stuttered, putting away his wand as he took out a long, wicked knife from his coat. The sight made Harry's fear surge yet again. "...W-Willingly...sacrificed..."

Wormtail held his arm out over the couldron, before hesitantly holding the blade of the knife across the wrist of the hand he had left. Gritting his teeth, Wormtail shocked Harry when he cut off his hand with sudden determination. Wormtail bit his teeth, shrieking through his teeth from the obvious pain as his hand dissapeared into the boiling water.

Holding his wounded arm to his chest, Wormtail turned towards Harry with a dark look on his face.

"...Blood of the enemy...", Wormtail whispered, stepping towards Harry. Harry felt his heart launch up into his throat upon the bloody knife pointed towards him. "...Forcefully taken..."

Oh no.

Harry felt his face become ashen upon seeing Wormtail's dark look. It was his blood he was going to take.

He had to stop this!

Trashing about in his confined, Wormtail reached forward with the knife, towards his wrist.

An idea struck Harry and he launched a hand towards Wormtail's arm. Before Wormtail could respond, Harry's fingers locked around the wrist of the hand which held the knife.

Wormtail immediately panicked and attempted to pull away and free his hand, but Harry's grip was iron. He saw an exit out of this dark scenario, and Harry would give no quarter back to the disgusting little shit.

Snarl growing on his face, Harry mustered up all the will he could, all his intentions and hatred upon making Wormtail choke and die upon his own blood.

 _"Strangules!"_ , Harry hissed furiosly and immediately felt the sweet surge of necromantic energies forcing themselves from Harry's hand and into Wormtail.

Holding him there for a moment as the energies flowed into Wormtail, Harry let go when a shocked and strangled expression filled Wormtail's face.

'The Blood Strangler', a particularly vile and cruel curse, one Harry thought befitted the traitor nicely for all that he had done. The curse would clot the blood in his lungs, painfully denying his body to breathe, literally making him choke on his own blood.

Harry couldn't help the desperate, cruel grin which grew on his face as Wormtail fell to his back, eyes wide in a desperate and fearful expression. The hand he had left had long since dropped the knife, clawing desperately at both his chest and his throat as he futilely tried to breathe.

"Die, you fucking piece of shit!", Harry growled angrily at the dying man, grinning wider and wider as Wormtail's body began to still.

There was no guilt in what he had just done. Even if it hadn't been self-defense, he would have done it again a thousand times over for aiding in taking his parents from him.

None would miss him.

Wormtail's eyes had taken a bloodshot color, the result of his blood vessels rupturing from the lack of oxygen. It was a slow death, and Wormtail still shuddered as his body struggled to die.

Shaking his head, Harry tried to calm himself now that he hadn't a knife pointed at him.

He had to get free. The creature was still withing the cauldron.

He managed to eventually press himself free from the stranglehold the statue had held on him after a minute, and Harry immediately glanced around the area, almost expecting more enemies to appear and attack them.

He didn't know what could happen, so he didn't spend any time looking for his own wand and instead took Wormtail's from him.

Standing over Wormtail, Harry felt a flare of anger as he looked down on the pathetic man who seemed almost dead with the vacant expression on his face.

 _"Crucio."_ , Harry muttered cruelly, glaring hatefully down at the man as he willed all the suffering he could ever want upon another living being.

Sure enough, Wormtail wasnt dead just yet despite looking like he was, as his body began thrashing around when the spell hit.

Harry let the spell drop before taking a few more deep breaths to calm himself. Wormtail would be dead within moments and was worth no further attention.

There were still the threat of the creature in the cauldron. Harry knew who it was, but he had no idea if the creature held any power at all.

Slowly, Harry stepped towards the cauldron before stopping a short distance away, wand outstretched.

With a flick of his wrist, he vanished the boiling water inside the cauldron, fearfully awaiting the result of doing so. Silence greeted him upon his action and Harry awaited whatever the hell the creature had been to launch itself from the cauldron and attack him.

Seconds ticked by in silence.

 **"...Wormtail..."** , the creature's voice wheezed out with a hint of furious anger. The creature sounded incredibly frail and weak. **"...What is the meaning of this...?"**

A smile began playing on Harry's lips, his mind working a mile a minute.

With another flick of his wrist, he vanished the cauldron. The creature gasped as it fell into the grass, naked and vulnerable.

Slowly, Harry stepped forward to stand over it.

The creature looked like a large, yet underdeveloped fetus, lacking any notable features yet being exceptionally thin.

Yet its eyes... Harry knew its red, glinting eyes that glared hatefully at him from its position on the ground from anywhere. The headache that surged as Harry gazed upon it was a dead giveaway as well.

"...Voldemort...", Harry whispered with unbelieving amusement. The situation seemed completely unreal, yet his eyes did not deceive.

The creature laid in a fetal position, shivering upon being exposed to the cold night air. Voldemort gazed hatefully up at him, snarling with the misshapen, noseless and featureless face that reminded Harry oddly of a snake.

Harry almost expected the creature to attack him in some manner, but seconds passed between them as they looked at each other with mixtures of unbelieving surprise and hatred. Voldemort did nothing at all, except lay there with a hateful expression.

Harry began to grin, slowly realizing why.

 **"...Where is Wormtail...?"**

Harry blinked upon the question. If was a simple question and it wasn't that he didn't understand it, but...

...But here he was. Deep in the middle of nowhere with Voldemort lying on the ground before him.

Defenseless.

"Wormtail is dead.", Harry smiled coldly down at his nemesis. "Choked on his own blood."

The creature narrowed its eyes at him but did nothing else.

A minute passed between them in silence, and Harry's smile widened.

"...You cannot do anything right now... Can you?"

Voldemort glared at Harry from his position, further cementing the truth of Harry's question.

Harry chuckled.

A small snigger which eventually grew into full blown laughter.

 **"Be quiet , boy!"** , Voldemort wheezed out angrily, as if trying to murder Harry with his gaze alone, but it only made Harry laugh louder. **"If i was at my full capacity, i would kill you as easily as i killed the mudblood whore of your mother! Your father-!"**

"But you CANT!", Harry suddenly snarled, laughter disappearing instantly from his face as he lowered himself over Voldemort. Voldemort actually seemed surprised and unsettled by the sudden change in Harry's emotions as the young boy loomed over him. "You cannot do anything as you are right now, can you?"

Smirking, Harry slowly lowered his pointy finger down towards the head of Voldemort. He struggled futily with his weakened body, clearly unwilling to let Harry touch him.

As Harry's finger made contact with Voldemort's forehead, he shrieked loudly in pain and trashed about with his little body. The pain that filled Harry's scar seemed like a small price to pay in order to enjoy the little creature's anguish, and Harry grinned cruelly down at the little vermin.

He remembered how it had happened with Quirrell. His touch was a painful, even fatal matter to Voldemort and those he possessed.

But Harry didn't intend for him to die just yet. Not for a long time. Not for all the pain he had caused Harry.

Harry would pay back what he owed Voldemort.

Lifting his finger from Voldemort's body, the creature stilled, cold-sweat breaking out on its body as it gazed hatefully up at Harry.

 **"Do it then."** , Voldemort sneered, smirking cruelly at Harry. **"Avenge your mudblood mother and your father. Strike me down if you think you are so different from me. If only we had joined forces, we could have-"**

Voldemort paused with cold indignation as Harry began laughing anew.

"What!?", Harry roared with a sinister laugh, scowling darkly at Voldemort. "Today!? You think i am going to kill you here and now, today!?"

Voldemort's hateful expression faded.

A new expression made itself known on the creature's face. Harry couldnt quite name it...

...But he liked seeing it.

 **"...You're...You're not...?"**

Upon Voldemorts question, Harry chuckled and kneel'd down to him, looking at him with an expression that was both fond and cruel at the same time.

"Oh no, dear Tom, my dear...old...friend...", Harry whispered sinisterly. "I would never kill you so soon. Not for a long while yet. I owe you a debt my friend. One i intend to pay you back."

Shock filled Voldemort's face, before an unsure smirk filled the creature's face.

 **"I am the greatest Dark Lord there ever was! If you think anything you can do can phase me-"**

"I suspect you have a lot to teach me, yes...", Harry interrupted sweetly. "Through trial and error i think we can find something that deserves someone of your caliber."

Another pause filled with trepidation filled Voldemort's expression. It filled Harry with untold glee.

 **"Dumbledore would never let you do something like this."**

"Oh, i don't know about that.", Harry grinned wider. "After all, i don't intend for Dumbledore to ever find out about our little arrangement we will have going on from now on."

Harry stood up and stretched, eyes locked onto the little creature's face.

"You see, my old friend, It appears rather obvious to me, that the form you have taken right now is one you are unable to escape from. Should i release you from the body that now imprisons you, I'm sure you will find a way to return as you have done until now."

Voldemort seemed... Almost nervous. It wasn't enough for Harry despite how much it amused him.

"So no, i think i rather prefer you like this.", Harry grinned. "Like this, you cannot do anything. You're helpless. This way, i can find out how you're staying alive like you are and find a way to kill you, once and for all."

Voldemort's lips tightened, a stony scowl set on his face.

Looking down at the creature, Harry was almost disappointed when it seemed like Voldemort had nothing more to say.

His mind was racing now though. How was he supposed to work this out into his advantage? He suspected the cup that lied somewhere around would take him back to Hogwarts, but how would he be able to bring Voldemort safely back with him? He couldn't let him stay here. Not now when he had such an enormously important advantage to his own future.

No. Voldemort needed to be accounted for, one way or another. Even more, how would he explain his current absence to the rest of the school who was undoubtedly looking for him?

Harry turned and frowned, looking at the body of Wormtail, bloody knife still lying right next to him.

This...This could be an enormous boon for Sirius.

But there was no doubt there were going to be an investigation. Harry needed a believable excuse. Even more, he needed memories of an event he could manipulate into his favor.

A smile, grew on Harry's lips as a plan began to form.

It was a mad plan, a risky one. He would put himself through an enormous amount of pain, but perhaps he could find himself the right incentive and perhaps dull the pain.

 **"You are a fool, if you think i am going to tell you anything."**

Harry chuckled and turned back to Voldemort with a dark grin.

"I don't plan to try and convince you.", Harry grinned sinisterly as he pointed his want at the disgusting little body of his most hated enemy. "But in your weakened state, i do not think you're going to have much of a choice..."

Harry breathed deeply.

 _"Imperio."_


	13. Chapter 13 The Spider and the Fly

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 **Chapter 13 The Spider and the Fly**

A crowd on the verge of riot was what greeted Harry as the portkeyed cup slammed him down in front of the maze where the trial had first began.

He was in so much pain. He was bleeding from everywhere from where those _monsters_ had tortured him.

His legs were shivering as he had not fallen when the portkey placed him where he was, an oddity considering how he normally landed.

Some seconds passed without anyone noticing his presence, but Harry didn't dare to put a foot forward. He was sure he had a deep cut somewhere on his right leg and did not dare test his leg's capacity.

His dazed eyes searched out those who stood around him.

Faculty were trying to calm the crowd, while Dumbledore seemed to struggle with calming down an irate Minister.

Harry noticed Daphne standing right next to the minister, brave and brazen as she was, tearing into Dumbledore herself with rage present on her face.

Harry noticed her eyes, as it looked like she'd been crying. Harry knew that was his own fault.

As if sensing his presence, Daphne looked over Dumbledore's shoulder, meeting Harry's gaze.

Harry tried smiling at her, but Daphne's eyes widened into a mortified, shocked expression.

"HARRY!", Daphne screamed, but Harry couldn't help but feel she sounded more distant than what it seemed like she was.

Her scream rung like a gunshot through the open air, silencing everyone present at the split of a second. Daphne was the only one who reacted, breaking out into a mad dash straight towards Harry while everyone else watched him with him with stunned shock.

"...H-Hey Daph...", Harry murmured with a faint smile, before his legs lost their strength. He tumbled almost drunkenly to his side as Daphne came up to him.

His fall seemed to bring everyone out of their stupor and the chaos began anew, intensified by Harry's presence. People flocked over to him, but Harry's vision had grown hazy and he couldn't see much due to the blood loss.

"Pomfrey!", someone screamed.

"Harry! Stay awake!", he thought he heard Daphne yell at him.

People tussled around him, but Harry suddenly remembered an important detail.

"...M-Moody...", Harry coughed with glazed eyes. His words brought forth a bout of silence from those closely surrounding him. "...Moody... a Death...Eater...is impersonating...Moody..."

Hearing his struggled words, an explosion of activity erupted around him, but Harry felt like he was about to go to sleep.

He just wanted to rest.

As he heard shouting and spells being cast around him, Harry closed his eyes.

* * *

Harry blinked repeatedly as disorientation hit him. The lights were bright, but they cleared up quickly enough.

He felt sore all over his entire body.

Groaning, Harry's vision began to return, instantly recognizing the hospital wing as he attempted to sit.

"Don't.", a familiar voice admonished, accompanied by a hand pressing down lightly on his chest in order to keep him still.

Looking over to his side, Harry's eyes widened upon seeing the familiar face of Daphne right next to him.

"Daph?", Harry whispered in pleasant surprise, smiling as he looked over at the worried girl.

"Mhm.", Daphne murmured with a frown, lowering her hand from his chest. Instead, she grasped unto his hand with both of her own. "Don't move. You're in a pretty bad shape."

"Yeah, feels like I've been run over by a hippogryph.", Harry chuckled, groaning a bit again at the pain that came with it.

Looking around, Harry saw Dumbledore along with the Minister and a woman he did not recognize standing a distance away. They did not seem to have noticed Harry being awake yet, so he turned back towards Daphne with a soft smile.

"How long have i been out?"

Daphne sighed at his question.

"Just a few hours. Pomfrey managed to heal most of your wounds, but...", Daphne paused to take a shuddering breath, her eyes watering as she looked at him sympathetically. "...The _Cruciatus_ curse isn't something that can be healed in the manner of a few hours."

Hearing her worried tone, Harry smiled bravely at the girl, stroking one of the hands which held his own with his thumb.

"I'm fine Daph. Just a bit sore."

Daphne didn't seem impressed, her eyes growing with worry as she looked at him.

"Are...Are you sure you're alright Harry?"

Blinking, Harry looked at her with confusion.

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"You don't seem like yourself...", Daphne muttered with a frown.

Harry snorted with amusement and gave her a condescending smirk.

"You try being in Death Eater custody for a couple of hours and be yourself right after."

"Id rather not.", Daphne snorted right back at him, some of her smile returning. It disappeared quickly enough as she leaned closer to him. "Nobody knows what happened though, you're saying Death Eaters took a hold of you after the cup whisked you away?"

"Yeah.", Harry murmured, frowning with dismay upon the vile memory. "What about the false Moody? Did they get him?"

"Yeah, they got him.", Daphne growled, a disgusted frown growing on her face. "Seems like he was the one who charmed the cup, in order to deliver you to his Death Eater accomplices. Nobody knows who it is yet though, its been all hushed by the ministry so far. I hope they give him the kiss."

The vehement hatred she felt for those who harmed him warmed Harry's heart. He couldn't help but smile warmly at her, squeezing her hand in comfort.

"Its over now."

"Yeah.", Daphne sighed with a soft smile. "I don't know how you escaped them Harry. But i am glad you did."

"Me too.", Harry chuckled. "I found myself incredibly unsuited as a prisoner."

Daphne snorted into a giggle, drawing the attention of Dumbledore and his entourage.

"Harry.", Dumbledore greeted warmly as he came up to Harry and Daphne, the other's that he had conversed with following right after. "Good to see you in good health again, my boy." Dumbledore turned to Daphne and gave a courteous nod in greeting. "Miss Greengrass."

"Headmaster.", Daphne nodded back, much more colder and reserved than what Harry was used to seeing of her when they were alone together.

"Good to have you back with us, Harry.", Cornelius looked sadly and empathetically at Harry, no doubt feeling some responsibility for what had happened. "Terrible, terrible business this was."

Before he could respond, the unknown woman at the Minister's side stepped forward with a business like expression on her face, immediately drawing Harry's attention.

"Mister Potter.", the woman greeted. "My name is Amelia Bones. I am working as the 'Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement'. I would like to come to the bottom of this as quickly as possible."

Before Harry could respond, Daphne turned to regard the group with an unimpressed and cold glare.

"You cant even let him get a good night's sleep, before interrogating him?"

Everyone, including Harry himself, seemed surprised by the venom displayed by the young girl, but Amelia quickly attempted to defuse the situation by raising her hands defensively.

"No no, this is not an interrogation! Not at all!", Amelia insisted strongly, looking almost insulted at the accusation. "But considering what has transpired tonight, as well as the wounds that have been maliciously inflicted upon Harry's person, we do need to get answers as quickly as possible. We do not know who the guilty are or how many are involved."

Silence fell among them as they all digested Amelia's words, yet Daphne looked as unimpressed as ever. Eventually, Harry squeezed her hand and gave a reassuring smile.

"Daphne, its fine. They are just trying to help."

"They didn't try to help when you were first inducted though, did they?", Daphne muttered coldly, fixing her gaze on Dumbledore. "No, instead they wait until Death Eaters imprison and torture you."

The minister and Amelia bristled visibly, but Dumbledore sighed sadly.

"Daph.", Harry frowned. "I promise, I'm f-"

"They carved you with a knife, Harry.", Daphne snapped towards Harry with a furious glare. Seeing the tears running from her eyes put a stop to any response Harry had. "And they used the Cruciatus curse as well. Pomfrey said so."

It seemed Harry had underestimated how much of an impact the incident had on Daphne. It cast a new light on his companion, and Harry hated himself for having caused her such distress.

Standing up, Daphne wiped her eyes before looked pointedly at Harry.

"If you think its fine, then i am not going to say anything more on the matter." Daphne turned her hard gaze and the adults present. "But i am not going to bear the presence of these people any more than what i have too. I will give you the room, as i am sure Amelia here would like the privacy a formal investigation demands, but i will be here early tomorrow morning to see how you're doing."

Throwing him a last smile and a nod, Daphne strode right out the room without regarding any of the others present a single further glance.

Just like that, Daphne turned her back after admonishing the arguably 3 most powerful people in all of magical Britain.

Harry couldn't help but be impressed.

Amelia's lingering gaze after Daphne eventually fixed himself on Harry.

"I know this must be a very trying time for you, Harry, and i thank you for your cooperation. Perhaps you could start at the beginning, when the cup whisked you away.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes, recalling what had happened to the best of his ability.

* * *

 _Confusion struck him as he picked himself up from the ground, but he quickly heard the jeering laughter from several masked people._

 _Before he could react, a disarming spell hit him and instantly removed him of his wand._

 _Harry's stomach dropped through the floor upon seeing the many masked individuals surrounding him on all fronts throughout the entire graveyard. The masked individuals wore the same outfits he could remember from the World Cup. He would never forget._

 _One individual in particular did not wear a mask, lingering in the shadows far behind the rest, but before Harry could contemplate further, the 'Cruciatus' spell hit him._

 _His body screamed in protest, as it felt every fiber of his being were being ripped to pieces._

 _Harry screamed and hit the ground as his legs lost their strength. The laughter from the masked individuals increased in volume as they chattered excitedly with each other._

 _They tied him up and began carving him up with a knife for the amusement of the rest. They taunted him, telling him how they had ingeniously managed to portkey the cup into taking him to themselves, with a Death Eater masked as former auror Moody. They told him it wouldn't matter, because they would kill Harry in the end._

 _They switched and made turns between each other in torturing him, some using a knife, and some using the cruciatus curse. The torment seemed to never end._

 _When they had finally weakened him sufficiently, they allowed him back his wand and told him to stand. He would duel one of them to the death, as if Harry would ever stand a chance with his increasingly worsening wounds._

 _Harry surprised them. He cast a bombarda to the side instead, exploding a statue right next to a couple of Death Eaters that stood between himself and the cup. The explosion sent them both tumbling and Harry dashed for the cup before the Death Eaters could react._

 _Just as the eerie green lights of the Avada Kadavra approached Harry with frightening speed, his hand touched the cup, sending him back to Hogwarts._

* * *

Dumbledore looked pained at hearing the story, his eyes closed in a sad grimace. Cornelius looked shocked, almost unbelieving while Amelia looked furious.

Amelia continued to ask a few obligatory questions to Harry, some which he could answer and some he couldn't, while Dumbledore and Cornelius conversed quietly among themselves.

Eventually, Amelia took out a small vial from her robes, asking Harry if he could deposit his memory of the event for reviewing by an eventual jury. After a short explanation as to how it would be done, Harry gave her the event by memory and dumped it with his wand into the vial, like a silvery substance.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, they wished him a good rest and left him to sleep.

Harry sighed in relief when he was finally alone again and quickly closed his eyes.

He fell asleep almost immediately.

* * *

It was in the middle of the night and not a sound could be heard throughout the entire castle. Students and teachers alike had gone to sleep many hours ago.

Darkness filled the hospital wing where Harry soundly slept.

Then suddenly...

...His eyes opened.

His face was empty of all expression.

And in his eyes...

...In his eyes were the glazed look of a victim of the 'Imperio'.

Silently, yet with determination, Harry rose from the bed.

Moving with purpose throughout the castle, Harry quickly found himself by the abandoned female restroom, the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.

Hissing the words that would welcome him deep below the castle, the darkness swallowed him whole.

His feet stopped outside of Elize's tunnel, the web-covered tunnels greeting him just a couple of feet away.

Almost robotically, Harry reached into his robes...

...And there, he pulled out a vial and within it was the silvery substance of memories.

Like a controlled puppet, Harry uncorked the vial and put it to his lips before throwing his head back.

Almost immediately, Harry began shuddering with closed eyes.

He stilled, and began to smile.

His expression shifted into a dark scowl, his shoulders hunching as he began to grin.

"...Success...", Harry hissed with a broadening smile.

Elation struck him like a train and he began to giggle in both wonder and elation.

He had done it.

He had actually FUCKING done it!

Giggling and feeling like he just won his own life in a lottery, Harry put his head in his hands and began to laugh. The gravelly sound of his laugh erupted into a hollow echo that rung throughout the chamber of secret.

It had been marvelous. Risky, but marvelous.

The weakened body of Voldemort gave no resistance to the 'Imperius' and divulged all his secrets at Harry's leisure. A plan quickly formed, one he was hesitant to throw himself into, but had little choice.

The memory he needed to provide would have to be vague enough for Harry to be believed, yet have enough information for the Ministry to find the area where he'd been portkeyed to and find Wormtail's body.

They would undoubtedly have questions about the state in which they found Wormtail in, but the memory Harry had provided would give them everything they would believe Harry to know. The unmasked individual in his memory gave enough information to prove that it was indeed Wormtail, something of which would force the ministry into revisitting the trial for Sirius's imprisonment.

The question as to why Wormtail would be dead would be likely to be blamed on the Death Eaters, taking out their anger on Wormtail when Harry got away or some equal excuse.

To make it all believable, Harry needed to hurt, and he needed proof of it. Wormtail's wand which Harry had left at the scene of the crime would show the last spell used as the torture spell, perfectly working into Harry's favor.

The unpleasant part however, what was came next. After using the Imperio on Voldemort, Harry gave the creature incredibly specific orders, before giving the creature the wand.

The creature, in turn, used the 'Imperio' spell on Harry with his own exact orders.

Harry was forced on his own orders to mutilate himself with the knife present with Wormtail, furthering proof for his memory and against Wormtail's case. Before doing so, the imperiused creature had tortured him for a short while with the cruciatus curse, making it even more obvious as to what had happened, since Harry banked on Pomfrey being proficient enough in her job to find the remains of the curse on his body when healing the lacerations.

It had hurt. Oh, had it hurt so greatly, even with an addled mind like he had, it had hurt and Harry was sure he would never forget that pain. But with the fear of your own life on the line, Harry found the pain to matter very little.

Next, Harry had transfigured a vial for his memories, extracting all of his real, true memories, before the imperioused Voldemort obvliviated him and manipulated the truth to be showed as he willed it.

Harry then followed his own Imperiused commands, returning to Hogwarts heroically and wounded as he was, spilling the truth about the false Moody before blacking out in front of the crowd. As he woke up, his imperio'd mind followed his earlier orders in playing along and giving them the manipulated memory of the event, something of which Harry had been hoping for.

After doing so, Harry's command had woken him up in the middle of the night, taking him back to his chambers before swallowing his real, former memories of himself and what had actually happened.

Harry stretched lazily with a grin as he stood. His body was still a bit sore, but the pain that had been seemed like a different lifetime ago. Now he only had his other, fatal condition to worry about, but the tournament was finally finished, allowing him to follow more productive prospects.

Harry smiled darkly as reached into his pocket.

And even Voldemort himself, was now in his grasp.

Harry took out another vial, holding it up into the air before his eyes with a grin.

Inside the vial was a small fly, buzzing about angrily within its confines.

Smirking, Harry reached to uncork the opening.

"...Step into my parlor...", Harry whispered sinisterly as the cork opened. "...Said the spider to the fly..."

The fly buzzed out quickly, instantly flying towards the exit of the chambers, but Harry's enhanced vision easily kept track.

With a wave of his wand, the fly morphed back into the decrepit form of Voldemort.

Much to Harry's amusement, seeing as the creature had been in the air upon the time of his reversed transfiguration, Voldemort shrieked and fell, his little body slamming harshly into the stony, moist floor beneath their feet.

 **"B-Boy...!"** ,Voldemort hacked out, the drop having emptied his lungs for air. **"..You shall PAY for this!"**

"And i will!", Harry giggled gleefully as he stepped over toward the little creature. "Last time we were here together, you went out of your way to make me feel...welcome. This time i will do my best to return the favor."

Smiling widely down at Voldemort, Harry clapped his hands extravagantly together twice, as if calling upon someone. It was unnecessary considering his dominating power, but Harry had begun to get a taste for the dramatic.

A soft, chittering sound came from the web covered tunnel right next to them, and the little body of Voldemort turned its head with trepidation towards the sound.

Harry could almost see his face drain.

Elize stepped out of the tunnel, and she had grown over the last months. She now stood as enormous as Harry had remembered Aragogg once stood before him. She was a mammoth of a creature, even among her own kind, easily being the size of several smaller acromantulas in both width and height.

Seeing his favored pet loom over the ashen form of Voldemort, Harry turned and began to walk away from the scene.

"My darling pet will show you to your new quarters."

Harry smiled wider upon hearing the screams and shouts of anger and horror as Elize wrapped Voldemort up in her silk.

He would live.

For now.


	14. Chapter 14 Summer

**Harry Potter - The Curse of Undeath**

 _AN:_

 _Last chap. Should i ever actually decide to write a sequel, one could consider this as a prequel, considering the story here is a bit meager to be considered a full story._

 **Chapter 14 Summer**

Harry remained seated in his hospital bed with an unamused expression on his face.

The hospital wing was a dreadful place, and madam Pomfrey did the place justice by how much of a strict rule she ran there. Harry had so far been confined almost an entire day from school in the hospital wing by her orders, despite having felt completely fine after waking up in the morning.

In one of her checkups after the incident, she'd noted vocally that there was an irregularity with his heart. Harry had frozen in fear of Pomfrey finding out what it was, but Pomfrey put his mind at ease when explaining that it wasn't unheard off that people died from the torture curse, and sometimes people would experience problems with their hearts in the time after.

After Pomfrey asked whether it hurt and bothered him, Harry quickly lied and said no. Pomfrey brushed the case off and told him to let her know immediately, should there ever be some sort of uncomfortable pain.

He was tempted to be honest and get help for the issue that had been killing him slowly over the last couple of months, but he couldn't afford anyone taking a closer look or begin to investigate his body. He'd so far been incredibly lucky, but should anyone find out about his hobbies over the last months...

...The warnings in Ludvig's book rang in his head any time he even considered it.

But despite the horrid boredom that was the hospital wing, that was not what had him so unamused. Quite differently, it was the headline of the 'Daily Prophet' in his hands which drew his ire.

 _'The Tragic Tale of the 'Boy-Who-Won.'_

His brow twitched in annoyance and gazed over the picture. It was a picture, seen from the side, moments before he entered the maze of the third trial. One could clearly see Harry standing here, haggard as he was, looking straight towards the crowd in the stands with a soft smile on his face among the other contestants. Looking back at him in just a somber, soft manner, Daphne smiled at him among the rowdy crowd. They were clearly the focus of the picture, casting them both in a romantic, yet tragic light as the 'Daily Prophet' explained, in a bit of a censored version, what had happened that night when Harry was abducted. While the name of the one who had taken Moody's position within the school and tricked the cup remained unknown to the public, his use of polyjuice to take the appearance of the former auror had been revealed.

It was clever, Harry had to give the man that. Risky, but clever.

Too bad for him and his master than Harry had won EVERYTHING in their failure.

Harry had months ago manipulated Rita Skeeter into writing a more partial article in his own favor, but the goal had never been to get more attention to himself. This, however, would undoubtedly lead to a lot of unwanted attention and questions that he honestly had no wishes to regale to anyone.

Harry frowned in worry. Daphne's family was sure to take offence to her affiliations with him, now that their...relationship, had gone public.

Harry smiled thinly.

Perhaps he could make some use of that prize money from the tournament to actually do something to help her. Money buys everything as it were, and while the official coronation of the tournament winner had not been done yet, the money was still his to do with whatever he pleased.

Harry had months ago been investigating possibilities of pulling Daphne out of the nightmare that awaited her outside of school. Strictly speaking, there was little he could do legally.

But money talks and money buys, legally or otherwise. Since Harry was a minor, he did not have access to the entirety of his family vault, apart from the stipend he was contracted to receive with a set limit he'd be allowed to take, but the prize money would be put in his hand.

1000 galleons.

Such money could sway a lot of people.

Just as Harry was thinking about who he'd send a letter with his proposition to, Daphne strode into the Hospital wing with a stride of purpose as she always had.

"Hey you.", Daphne murmured, seating herself at his side with a small smile.

"Hey yourself.", Harry grunted back, folding the newspaper in his lap.

As he moved to put it away, Daphne snatched it from him with a mischievous smirk, obviously having caught on to his annoyance and the source of it.

True to her word, Daphne had shown up early in the morning, waking him from his sleep with a worried frown to make sure he was still alright. It would have been endearing if Harry hadn't wanted to sleep as bad as he did. Even so, his grumbling had immediately put her at ease and they conversed for a short while before she got to class.

Harry had always known Daphne to be sharp, but Harry remembered her yesterday when she sensed he was not himself. Her intuition was frightening, something of which he had to remember at every turn from now on.

Even if she knew he had something to do with Nott's disappearance, Ludvig's warning still scratched at the back of his mind.

"Hoh, i look nice from that angle.", Daphne drawled, before fixing Harry with a saucy, yet overly innocent pouty expression. " _'Beautiful damsel, struck by love'_ , am i?"

Harry remembered reading that line himself and grimaced, which upon seeing made Daphne break out into a giggle.

"Well...", Daphne continued, folding the paper with a wistful smile. "...They weren't entirely wrong..." Before Harry could even get the chance to respond, Daphne put the paper on his bedside table and smiled brightly at him. "So, Pomfrey gonna let you outa here anytime soon?"

Harry, grateful for the change in topic, rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"If she gets her way I'm never going to leave i think."

"On the contrary, i don't ever want you to place your feet in here again for the rest of the year.", Pomfrey suddenly barked out from her office, striding through her door towards Harry. "One last checkup and I'l release you to the care of you girlfriend."

"Thank you.", Daphne sung lightly, grinning cheekily at Harry's admonishing stare when he wasn't given the time to respond himself.

Pomfrey checked him swiftly on proficiently, before allowing him to stand from the bed. With the parting advice on returning if he should feel any lingering discomfort, Harry was finally allowed to leave the dreaded hospital wing.

Smiling as Daphne droned on about the classes of the day, Harry couldn't help but let his mind wander.

He had so much he needed doing.

* * *

Weeks passed and day by day, summer creeped closer and closer.

The coronation was something of a large event that got all of the schools really excited, but Harry was glad when it ended. Afterwards the schools quickly took their leave back to their countries and the days fell back into the comfortable routines they had been before they had arrived.

Day by day was filled with the same monotony that plagued Harry's patience. He could feel himself dying, little by little as every day passed, but he had to remain patient.

He had to wait for the right moment.

While classes remained obviously one dimensional, Harry never seized his studies within the magics of the undead. His study within the fields of attaining undeath in particular was one he remained increasingly interested in, an interest largely motivated by the fear of death.

The memory of Nott still lingered.

While Harry was sure he could perform such a ritualistic process in attaining undeath, he was still wary of doing such a dangerous ritual on his own after the failed potion. He wanted a specialist, someone who knew what they were doing.

Those who knew about such magic were few around the world, most were extinct or bordering extinction from what Harry had read.

But he knew just who to search for.

Sirius had also been vehement in meeting Harry, worried to death after what had happened during the final parts in the trial, but Harry had managed to convince him to wait and be patient. It would be too dangerous to do anything but lay low considering the uproar both the ministry and the magical population of Britain found itself in after news of Death Eaters abducting the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.

Harry hated that title. It was a name given by the sheep like people, unable to think or do anything for themselves. As if just surviving the night which killed his family was worth being famous for.

Sirius would also be an obstacle in what Harry HAD to do during the summer. He only had a set amount of time and couldn't afford distraction.

As for Voldemort...

Voldemort would learn humility.

* * *

Voldemort hung from several spider silk strings, cocooned in Elize's silky embrace within the chamber Salazar's basilisk once slept in. Beneath the cocoon in which imprisoned the former dark lord, Harry sat with a content smile upon an old Victorian chair he'd transfigured himself just for these occasions.

There were no lights within the chambers, but Harry's enhanced eyes saw through the darkness easily enough.

Through the silky cocoon, only Voldemort's mouth was free, set in an angry snarl.

 **"...Are you going to sit there and gloat all day, boy...?"** , Voldemort hissed angrily, bringing Harry's smile wide.

"For now.", Harry murmured contently. Voldemort fell silent again and Harry just gazed gleefully at his mortal enemy. He hadn't asked him a single question yet.

His questions could wait.

 **"...Weren't you going to ask your questions...?"** , Voldemort eventually wheezed out again, and Harry sighed in response. **"...A long time has passed...And you waste your time with silence...Is not my purpose here to answer your curiosities...?"**

"Eventually. For now i have more important things to do." Harry grinned upon seeing Voldemort's snarl grow in intensity. It obviously rubbed the dark lord wrong to be brushed off as a second priority. "I will be leaving Hogwarts for summer, in just a couple of days."

Voldemort stiffened in his cocoon, his snarl lessening with confusion.

 **"...And what about-..."**

"You will be taken care of.", Harry interrupted sweetly, closing his eyes as he let his mind reach out to feel the minds of every living creature within the castle. "Elize will take great care of you while i am gone, i am sure."

 **"...Wha-, your spider...!?"** , Voldemort scoffed mockingly. **"...Seems the stupidity of your mudblood mother addles your brain..."**

"I wouldn't be so sure of that.", Harry smiled thinly, a cold hatred settling in his gut as he glared at Voldemort. "Elize will bring you food. Whether you like it or not."

Voldemort seem to grow unease from his words, shuffling once within his cocoon to no avail.

 **"...Explain..."**

"Elize will hunt. And then she will eat.", Harry grinned sinisterly. "You will eat what she has eaten, something of which she will regurgitate up and forcefeed you if necessary."

Silence filled the chambers.

The shocked confusion made way for a more hateful snarl on Voldemort's lips, the worst one yet that Harry had so far seen.

It filled him with elation.

 **"...I will kill everyone you hold dear, boy...! I will torture and murder anything you touch..."**

"I am sure you will.", Harry scoffed, standing up and with one last gleeful glare at Voldemort, turned to leave the chamber. "We will talk again after the summer. We will have a lot to talk about."

 **"...I swear it boy, every joy you have ever had will be nothing but ashes...!"**

"Have a good summer, Tom."

 **"...Are you listening to me? I SWEAR...!"**

* * *

"So tomorrow is the day, huh...?", Daphne asked rhetorically, looking into the plate of her food with a despondent stare.

They sat alone at the edge of the Gryffindor table next to each other. It was late during the dinner, and the house points had already been read and the House Cup award to the proper house. Harry didn't care.

When the dinner and feasting began to die down, Daphne had finally come to join him at the table and now, an hour later, most had gone to prepare for bed.

It was nearly curfew. Today would be the last day he'd see her.

Seeing the dread on his friend's face, Harry reached over and grasped her hand in his, tightening his hold in comfort. Daphne smiled in response, giving him a thankful smile with watery eyes.

Nobody were anywhere close, the last few students present leaving slowly in scattered groups.

Neither Daphne nor Harry wished to leave the other.

Daphne knew that when she finally returned home to her family, a bleak future awaited her at the hands of unwilling matrimony.

Harry didn't envy her or how she felt.

Hearing her sniffle, Harry put an arm around her shoulder to pull her close. His heart went out for the girl, but there was little he could do.

"...I-I wish...I wish...", Daphne sobbed into his chest, her arms creeping around him to hold Harry tightly.

"...I know love.", Harry murmured softly with a frown as he held the girl close. "I wish things could be different."

"...Guess it would be i-improper of me to invite you to my wedding, huh...?"

Despite her sobbed words, Harry gave a somber snort which Daphne herself began to giggle at. The giggle broke back down into another fit of sobs.

Tightening his hold around her, Harry pressed his face down into the top of her head with an anguished frown.

He hated the thought that tonight might be the last time he would see her. He did his best to burn everything about her into his memory so he would never forget. How she looked, how she smelled, how she smiled and how she laughed. He wanted to remember it all. He wanted to remember the happy hours he had with her and even the sad ones.

He didn't want to ever forget.

"...Thank you, Harry...", Daphne whispered into his neck. "Thank you for always being there for me. Thank you, for all that you have done for me."

Harry took a deep breath, trying to control his welling emotions.

"...I'd do anything for you Daphne..."

It was the most honest thing Harry had ever known himself to have said.

"...Could...Could you maybe...", Daphne trailed off and Harry could hear the apprehension in her voice.

"...Anything...", Harry responded, pressing his lips into the top of her head.

"...Will you see me off, at the train station when we arrive in 'King's Cross'...?"

A pained flash went over Harry's expression before disappearing as quickly as it had come. Smiling sadly, Harry nodded.

"...Yeah..."

He'd do anything for her. Even lie to her.

* * *

Wrapped in his invisibility cloak, Harry walked swiftly through the castle grounds.

Everything he couldn't bring with him had been put in his chambers. Vernon and Petunia had been sent a letter explaining he would be gone throughout the summer. Hopefully, Dumbledore or Sirius wouldn't catch wind of it.

It would complicate things should they discover him gone.

Tonight was the last night before everyone went back to their homes. Now, he had until the school would start again to finish his work.

He couldn't fail.

Harry had muffled his feet, making him completely silent as he sneaked through the empty corridors of the school. The backpack he carried was heavy, holding provisions and notes that were essential to his trip.

He didn't dare bring Ludvig's book with him, which was why he'd written large amounts of notes, should he need the guidance. But Ludvig's book was too valuable to bring with him on such a Journey.

Harry eventually reached the gate and he wasted to time before making a beeline towards the Forbidden Forest.

Harry smiled and shook his head in amusement. A place that had once wrought fear in his heart now strangely comforted Harry.

If one knew where to step, it was not so dangerous at all. His dominating power made it all the more easier to remain undetected by both folk and creatures alike.

Unfortunately, because of Hagrid's job as the forest keeper, Harry had a long way to move to his destination. He had to go all the way to the base of the mountain, through the deepest parts of the forest where even Hagrid did not venture. The secrecy was a necessity.

Hours passed as Harry strode through the darkness, not daring to remove the cloak under any circumstances. The sun eventually began to rise, when Harry was finally at his destination.

Walking softly through the forest, Harry smiled in relief when he finally came upon a wide, burnt patch of forest. Bones of various animals littered the area but the scenery didn't frighten Harry one bit.

His mind easily picked up on a familiar presence, and Harry quickly removed and packed his cloak as he approached the presence at the base of the mountain.

Another minute of walking, and Harry finally came upon her.

The Hungarian Horntail.

She laid resting upon a big, flat stone at the base of the mountain, a pile of bones from various hunts littering the area. Harry hadn't made many trips throughout the year to visit her due to the length, but it proved unnecessary as she was able to take care of herself.

Sensing her master's prescence, the dragon opened its eyes and bristled its scales as it stretched, before waiting patiently and silently, as all creatures under Harry's dominion did.

Harry had to spend many hours learning charms to mask her presence just for this occasion, which proved difficult due to the magically resistant nature of dragons, but it wasn't impossible. Now, he just hoped it would hold.

Harry had decided to forego his wand altogether, seeing as the trace on his wand would no longer be hidden by the wards of Hogwarts. He was proficient enough without one and hoped it wouldn't come back to bite him too terribly.

Harry shook his head. It was too late to have second thoughts.

Reaching into his enchanted backpack which held more room than what it looked like, Harry pulled out a Hippogryph harness that he had stolen from Hagrid. He had customised it to fit the Horntail, further enchanting it to make the long trip a bit more comfortable.

Harry had never ridden a dragon before, but he didnt expect it to be pleasant considering how long he would be flying for.

Gazing up at the sky, Harry frowned. It was time.

As he put one foot in the footstrap of the dragon's rider harness, Harry hesitated.

Daphne would be waking up any moment know, hoping for him to be there for her. Supporting her as she took her steps towards something which she had once considered taking her own life in order to escape.

Harry shook his head with a smile, before stepping up fully on the Horntail's back.

Harry had done all that he could. Should he die on this trip, Harry could at least die with the comfort of knowing that at the very least.

"...Come on, girl.", Harry muttered and took a deep breath.

"To the Vampire Cove in Transylvania."

* * *

Daphne frowned, tapping her foot with impatience as people milled around her at the platform.

In just a few minutes, the train would leave Hogsmeade and take them back to London.

Daphne had made peace with her future. She was ready, no matter how much she wanted things to be different. She wouldnt torture herself or Harry any longer after the summer, but for now, she wanted him close.

Maybe it was a silly, childish love as she so often told herself, but it was something that had brought her giddy happiness ever since the first moment. Which was more than her family had ever given her.

She wanted at least a few, last hours with Harry before they parted. The trainride was supposed to be her opportunity to clear the air and say the things that needed to be said between them properly.

People were already filling the train, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Daphne had been worried when she didn't see him at breakfast, but told herself it was surely him being caught up in his study again, cramming up some last knowledge of Merlin knows what before summer. But now, as he still didn't show, Daphne was beginning to grow worried.

The cry of an owl suddenly called out from above.

Curios, Daphne looked up but had to lift an arm to shield the sun from her eyes.

A white owl, feathers the color of snow, flew towards her from the morning sky. Daphne widened her eyes in surprise as she noticed the owl being Harry's own.

She put out her arm for Hedwig to land on, frowning as she wondered what in the world Harry was up too.

As Hedwig landed elegantly, Daphne immediately noted a letter in her beak.

"Hey there girl.", Daphne murmured with a smile, having early on gotten a soft spot for Harry's own. "Is that for me?"

With an endearing hoot, Hedwig released the letter as Daphne grasped it, flying off without further issue.

The envelope was unmarked and unnamed, furthering Daphne's suspicions with narrowed eyes.

Daphne opened the envelope and took out the letter which she began to read with a wary gaze.

 _'To whomever this regards._

 _Someone has paid a substantial amount of money on your behalf to ensure your magical status within magical Britain is emancipated regardless of your age, which by law, places you currently as a minor. Should you complete this contract your benefactor has invested in, any arrangements either family or magical guardians have made in your name will be null and void._

 _To complete the contract it is asked of you to tell no one of the content of this letter and make sure you are not followed. Discretion is of utmost importance due to the legality of this contract. You will go to the bank of Gringotts and ask to speak with 'Goldbrother Ghpook'._

 _It is adviced that the receiver of this letter destroy it after sufficient memorizing of vital content._

 _GG'_

Daphne's arms fell limply to her side, the letter clutched tightly in her hand.

Daphne leaned her head back with closed eyes, feeling the morning sun and the wind caressing her face as if it was the first time.

Her tears flowed freely as she drew a shuddering breath.

She had never felt happier.

"...You...You idiot..."


End file.
